The jump in cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea is due to better testing and diagnosis.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The incidence of two sexually transmitted diseases jumped sharply in Vermont last year, although the Health Department said the reason might be better testing.

The nearly 50 percent jump in the number of chlamydia cases and almost 30 percent spike in cases of gonorrhea are attributable in large measure to more accurate testing and diagnosis, the Health Department said.

“We can’t completely discount a greater occurrence of the diseases, but I believe that what we’re seeing is the result of better testing and screening,” said Marilyn Richards, the sexually transmitted diseases coordinator for the Health Department.

She said that screening for men, in particular, has become easier and less intrusive. According to numbers provided by the Health Department, there were 954 cases of chlamydia reported in Vermont in 2002.

The most common sexually transmitted disease in Vermont, chlamydia afflicted 161 out of every 100,000 Vermonters, a rate that is 49.5 percent higher than it was in 2001, the department said.

That rate, however, is significantly lower than the U.S. average of about 278 cases for every 100,000 people, yet it is some 131 percent higher than Vermont’s rate in 1998, according to the Health Department.

Gonorrhea cases totaled 98 in 2002, a rate of infection equal to almost 17 cases for every 100,000 Vermonters, the Health Department said.

While that rate is up 29 percent over 2001, the Health Department said that it is much lower than the U.S. rate of about 129 cases for every 100,000 people.

And while the numbers are low, the state said, last year represented the highest incidence rate in 10 years. The rates of the two sexually transmitted diseases varied throughout the state. Chittenden County reported more than a third of the state’s total chlamydia cases and 52 percent of the state’s gonorrhea cases.

Rutland, Washington and Windham counties each reported about 10 percent of the state’s gonorrhea cases.

The infection rates also varied among age groups. For chlamydia, the infection rate for 20- to 24-year-olds equaled 1,084 for every 100,000 people. Of the reported cases of gonorrhea, 60 percent were in people ranging in age from 15 to 24, the department said.

AP-ES-11-07-03 1808EST

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