Montgomery, Alabama
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Montgomery, Alabama has the highest rate of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis of any city in the country, based on the CDC’s 2013 data. Data for herpes was not included in the assessment.
STD Infection Rate
Montgomery has a population of just over 200,000 and had an STD infection rate of 1,899 per 100,000 people. The city reported 4,371 STD occurrences, with about 70 percent of the cases for chlamydia, 30 percent for gonorrhea and less than 1/2 percent for syphilis. Chlamydia and gonorrhea often infect people at the same time. The high STD infection rate carries through the entire state of Alabama. Alabama ranks third in the number of chlamydia cases per 100,000 people and second in the number of gonorrhea cases. However, the state ranked 23rd for syphilis.
Other Top 10 Cities
In second place behind Montgomery was St. Louis, with an STD infection rate of 1,867 per 100,000. West Memphis, Arkansas took third place, with an STD infection rate of 1,717 per 100,000 people. Many of the cities in the top 10 are in the South, including New Orleans, Kileen, Texas and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Ft. Hood is located in Kileen and Ft. Bragg is located in Fayetteville.
Montgomery’s Proactive Steps to Reduce Infection
The city of Montgomery expects to see an improvement when the statistics from 2014 are released. Because of its high infection rate, the city took proactive measures in 2013 to reduce the infection rate by implementing the CDC’s Expedited Partner Therapy program. The program provides a second prescription to someone diagnosed with a sexually-transmitted disease that the person can give to his sexual partner to prevent passing the disease back and forth. The person’s partner does not have to be identified and does not have to come to a clinic to get tested.
Reporting STD Infection Data to the State
Every state has a law that requires health care professionals to report all positive test results for STDs to the state health department. Health care professionals must provide personal information about the person testing positive, such as name, address and birth date, and they do not have to notify the patient that they’re providing this information because it’s required by law. State health departments usually contact the infected patients to get the names of their sexual partners so the partners can be notified. The state health departments remove the personal information before submitting the data to the CDC.
How to Get an Anonymous STD Test
Fear of the state health department knocking on the door prevents some people from getting tested and from getting the treatment they need. If you’re postponing an STD diagnosis, you should know that you can get an anonymous STD test and treatment by following the instructions in our free guide to anonymous STD testing. Waiting to get treatment only makes the treatment more complicated and potentially less successful.
