Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are still on the rise in the United States, said a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (Xinhuanet Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhuanet)-- Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are still on the rise in the United States, said a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    The new annual report on STDs for 2007 shows a high burden of STDs, especially among women and racial minorities. In the United States, reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea exceeded 1.4 million in 2007. These illnesses continued to be the most frequently reported infectious diseases nationwide.

    Dr. John Douglas, who heads the CDC's division of STD prevention, said overall syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea rates were unacceptably high. 

    Syphilis rates rose for a seventh year in 2007, driven by gay and bisexual men, while the number of gonorrhea cases remained at alarming levels. Syphilis can kill, if left untreated, but chlamydia and gonorrhea are not life-threatening.

    In 2007, a record of 1.1 million U.S. cases of chlamydia were reported, up from about 1 million in 2006, and the rate rose by 7.5 percent from the prior year, the CDC said in the report "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2007."

    Chlamydia can infect men, but rates are nearly three times higher for women. That's at least partly due to 1993 federal recommendations that emphasize testing for sexually active women age 25 and under.

    In addition, more than 350,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported in 2007, essentially unchanged from 2006, the CDC said. Gonorrhea rates fell dramatically from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s, with little progress since.

    Chlamydia and gonorrhea are easily diagnosed and treated, but frequently have no symptoms and remain undetected. Untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea -- both bacterial infections -- can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women. The two infections also can cause ectopic pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain and other health problems.

    "Of all the causes of infertility, this is probably the most preventable -- since these infections can be prevented, diagnosed and treated," Douglas said in a telephone interview.

    Gonorrhea that also affects the urethra and cervix in women and the urethra in men can also infect the rectum, anus and throat. Left untreated in women it can cause painful scar tissue and inflammation, and increase the risk of bladder cancer in men.    

    It's important to be screened at least once annually, even twice a year for younger people, said Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine. She offered to test everyone who comes into her office for STDs, even if they do not have any symptoms or came to see her for a different reason, if they haven't been tested in at least the last six months.

    However, not all doctors are so conscientious about STD testing, Douglas said.

    (Agencies)