Sexually transmitted diseases on the rise in Minnesota
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More Minnesotans were diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases last year than ever before.
Data released by the state Department of Health show cases of chlamydia have doubled in the last 10 years, to more than 12,000 cases in 2005.
Gonorrhea cases increased 18 percent in just one year, to nearly 3,000 in 2005.
Cases of syphilis are less numerous, but they are increasing the most dramatically -- with a 142 percent increase between 2004 and 2005. Almost all syphilis cases are reported among gay and bisexual men living in the Twin Cities.
Other STDs, though, are increasing fastest in Minnesota's minority communities, in the Twin Cities suburbs, and among teenagers and young adults.
One resource for Minnesotans worried about STDs is the Minnesota Family Planning and STD Hotline, funded through the Minnesota Department of Health.
Hotline coordinator Maneesha Jain says the numbers released Thursday are reflected in the increasing number of calls she receives. She spoke with MPR's Tom Crann.
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