Wyoming STD Rates: Don’t Just Do It, Know The Statistics!

The Wyoming Department of Health is now reporting that the rate of chlamydia infection has increased in recent years. However, that trend may not indicate overall bad news. Overall, Wyoming ranks 26th in the Nation for rate of Chlamydia infection in 2010.

The report was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wyoming's current numbers in 2010 are up 18 slots since 2007. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease that often has no symptoms but can lead to significant complications such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) and infertility.

The Wyoming Department of Health attributes most of the increase in the chlamydia rate to improved screening efforts in at-risk populations, increased reporting, greater promotion and availability of low-cost testing vouchers and enhanced partner services.

According to Canyon Hardesty of the Wyoming Department of Health, “Because routine sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening of sexually active young women is becoming more common, we expect the number of reported cases of chlamydia to continue increasing. The good news is routine screening should also lead to a decrease over time in long-term negative health consequences such as PID and infertility and in related healthcare costs.”

You can obtain testing vouchers for chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV by clicking here! Partner services are offered to all infected individuals.  This service notifies partners of a possible infection and refers them into public health or family planning clinics for low-cost testing and treatment.

The Wyoming Department of Health will continue supporting education and prevention measures to stop the spread of STDs and associated complications. They provide free medication to clinics to be used for ‘expedited partner therapy (EPT).’ With EPT, infected individuals may deliver medication to their partners.  EPT is used to decrease re-infection rates as well as treat partners who would not otherwise seek care,” she said.