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Report: Lane County Has High Rate Of Sexually-Transmitted Infections

Alvin Feng
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Flickr.com

An annual report shows Lane County has one of the higher rates of sexually-transmitted infections (STI)  in Oregon, and the nation. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

Credit AJ Cann / Flickr.com
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Flickr.com
Chlamydia

The latest County Health Rankings report used chlamydia  incidences from 2015. For every 100,000 Lane County residents, there were nearly 460 reported cases. Oregon as a whole had roughly 411, while the U.S. figure is 479.

Lane County’s Public Health Manager, Joceyln Warren, says there are some possible factors behind the numbers.  

“We know that people are not practicing safe sex as they used to during the height of the HIV epidemic, given that we do have drugs now that are more effective in preventing transmission," says Warren.

"And delaying the long-term adverse effects that we saw at the height of HIV.”

Graphic from County Health Rankings report shows incidence rates per Oregon county for sexually-transmitted infections.

Warren says when rates go up for STIs, there’s usually a bump for HIV rates, too.  Her agency is using a five-year grant with funds from the CDC to address communicable diseases across Lane County.

Jefferson and Multnomah Counties had the highest rates of STIs, with about 600 cases per 100,000 people.

Copyright 2018, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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