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Chlamydia, Gonorrhea on the rise in Utah

Posted at 2:45 PM, Nov 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-14 16:52:33-05

OGDEN, Utah – The Weber-Morgan Health Department’s 2016 Annual Report showed that Chlamydia and Gonorrhea were on the rise in Northern Utah, with most cases occurring in young adults.

According to the report, there were  873 reported Chlamydia cases in both counties, compared to 790 cases in 2015.

There was a large uptick in Gonorrhea cases in 2016 as well, with 68 more cases reported compared to 2015. The total number of Gonorrhea cases was 212.

Gonorrhea is an older disease, that has made a large comeback in recent years, particularly in young people. In Weber and Morgan Counties, 107 individuals between 18 and 29-years-old reported contracting the Sexually Transmitted Disease.

According to the 2016 report, the Weber-Morgan Health Department said:

“Due to increased numbers, all nurses are epi-trained to investigate and follow up on STD cases.”

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, EPI training helps nurses and other medical staff properly detect sexually transmitted diseases. Part of the difficulty in keeping diseases like Chlamydia and Gonorrhea from spreading is that they can be notoriously hard to detect. Due to how rapidly the diseases spread, health professionals in Weber and Morgan County have focused on education, and proper treatment.

If left untreated, both diseases can cause infertility, health complications and genital scarring.

The Annual Report also marked a staggering increase in flu-associated hospitalizations, which rose from 84 to 141 reports in 2016.