New Report Reveals the Texas Cities With Highest STD Rates

According to a Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the city of Austin presently ranks 56th among the 100 cities in America with the highest STD rates. New data on the STD numbers across city centers in the U.S. supported the statistics, which identified that in the state capital, for every 100K residents, 1,006 STD cases had been reported. And it wasn’t even the highest-ranking metro area in Texas.

Across the U.S., the CDC reported that more than 2.4 million STD cases were diagnosed in 2018. However, sources caution that these figures don’t reflect thousands of others who are yet unaware that they even have an STD, considering many of these diseases won’t display symptoms which are obvious. Among these, chlamydia, Human Papillomavirus (HPV,) and gonorrhea were listed. Even though antibiotics can cure gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia, there may be a lack of knowledge or education around that fact.

Photo: Health.mil

According to the data from the CDC, there are a number of factors that could be contributing the rise in STD cases in America. These may include, but aren’t limited to, poverty, stigma, drug use, decreased condom use, as well as cuts to education, prevention, and treatment programs. Although Austin ranked 56th on the list, that didn’t mean it was the worst ranking or that other cities in Texas were immune. As far as Lone Star State cities ranged, Killeen ranked at number eight, while Waco was 33rd, Lubbock was 38th, Dallas was 60th, and San Antonio ranked 74th. Across the country, Baltimore, Maryland, took the top spot with 2,004 STD cases for every 100K residents. In state rankings, Texas holds the 23rd spot among all 50. To review the entire report by the CDC, please visit the link provided here.