The Centers for Disease Control just released their latest study on sexually transmitted diseases and provided yet another reason why Congress has a lower approval rating than that last paper cut you got that you could have sworn nearly sliced your finger completely off.
As the charts below illustrate, the miscreants who run our federal government, in between their extramarital affairs of course, apparently helped Washington D.C. to “dominate” the CDC’s state-by-state rankings for STDs in 2016. With respect to Chlamydia outbreaks, for example, Washington D.C.’s reported cases exceeded the national average by 118% and the next closest state of Alaska by 40%.
In 2016, a total of 1,598,354 cases of Chlamydia trachomatis infection were reported to the CDC, making it the most common notifiable condition in the United States. This case count corresponds to a rate of 497.3 cases per 100,000 population, an increase of 4.7% compared with the rate in 2015. During 2015–2016, rates of reported chlamydia increased in all regions of the United States.
Winning…
But it’s not just Chlamydia, our political elites “dominated” across the board in 2016 when it came to reported cases of STDs with the outbreak of Gonorrhea in our nation’s capital reaching a staggering 230% above the national average.
In 2009, the national rate of reported gonorrhea cases reached an historic low of 98.1 cases per 100,000 population. During 2009–2012, the rate increased slightly each year to 106.7 cases per 100,000 population in 2012 and has increased steadily during 2014–2016. In 2016, 468,514 gonorrhea cases were reported for a rate of 145.8 cases per 100,000 population, an increase of 18.5% from 2015.
Meanwhile, Syphilis outbreaks in D.C. exceeded the national average by just over 175%.
In 2000 and 2001, the national rate of reported primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis cases was 2.1 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest rate since reporting began in 1941. However, the P&S syphilis rate has increased almost every year since 2001. In 2016, 27,814 P&S syphilis cases were reported, representing a national rate of 8.7 cases per 100,000 population and a 17.6% increase from 2015. During 2015–2016, the P&S syphilis rate increased among both men and women in every region of the country; overall, the rate increased 14.7% among men and 35.7% among women.
While we joke, as the CDC points out, the growth in STD’s in the U.S. has been staggering over the past 16 years…
It is estimated that there are 20 million new STDs in the U.S. each year, and half of these are among young people ages 15 to 24 years. Across the nation, at any given time, there are more than 110 million total (new and existing) infections. These infections can lead to long-term health consequences, such as infertility; they can facilitate HIV transmission; and they have stigmatized entire subgroups of Americans.
Beyond the impact on an individual’s health, STDs are also an economic drain on the U.S. healthcare system. Data suggest the direct cost of treating STDs in the U.S. is nearly $16 billion annually. STD public health programs are increasingly facing challenges and barriers in achieving their mission. In 2012, 52% of state and local STD programs experienced budget cuts. This amounts to reductions in clinic hours, contact tracing, and screening for common STDs. CDC estimates that 21 local health department STD clinics closed that year.
…and is reaching epidemic levels among teenagers and young adults.
All of which we assume can be tied back to Trump’s relentless attacks on Obamacare and/or cuts to various federally-funded education and outreach programs…certainly it can’t have anything to do with the gradual and systematic destruction of the American family.
via http://ift.tt/2wkHVBN Tyler Durden