Apr. 3--Blue Earth County continues to have one of the state's highest rates of a common sexually transmitted disease. But, in a strange twist, that might be good news.
A state health official said it's likely that more aggressive testing in Mankato catches more cases of chlamydia than elsewhere, leading to the higher rate.
The state saw a new high in an epidemic of STDs in 2008. The Minnesota Department of Health said there were 17,650 new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis last year, a 3.5 percent increase.
Blue Earth County had the fourth-highest rate in the state, behind Hennepin,
Ramsey and Beltrami counties. Blue Earth County had 212 new cases of chlamydia, the most common STD, a rate of 379 cases per 100,000 people.
The county had 27 fewer cases than in 2007.
Peter Carr, head of the health department's STD division, said the county could have slightly higherrates because of a larger college -- age population. Most cases of STDs are in those younger than 25.
"But it's very likely that health- care workers there are doing a much better job of screening. Chlamydia, in women in particular, doesn't produce symptoms, so there has to be good routine screening," Carr said.
"By doing what they are supposed to do, it makes theproblem look worse than it is."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that sexually active women younger than 25 get screened yearly for STDs.
Nicollet County saw 35 cases of chlamydia, a slight increase over 2007.
Statewide, rates for STDs have continued a rise that started more than a decade ago. Rates have risen fastestamong the poor.
Chlamydia cases statewide were up 14,350, a 7 percent increase.
Again, Carr said the increases may be partly to do with more aggressive screening than in the past.
If left untreated, chlamydia can lead to infertility in some women and cause complications in giving birth and possible infections in newborns.
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