From the Washington Times:
The rates of three curable sexually transmitted diseases all rose last year, indicating that the nation is losing ground in that public health battle.
A record 1 million chlamydia cases were reported in 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday in its annual surveillance report on sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs.
Gonorrhea rates rose for the second year, and the rate for syphilis — which was slated for eradication a few years ago — rose for the sixth year.
The cases are part of an estimated 19 million new sexually transmitted infections that occur each year, almost half of which are contracted by people younger than 24, and which have direct medical costs of about $15 billion a year.
"STDs pose a serious and ongoing health threat to millions
And taxpayers help fund the causes through public education funding:
But Dr. Gary L. Rose, president and chief executive of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, said the continued increases in STD rates "can be directly attributed to a failure in contraception-focused education to fully teach" young people about the risks of disease. "Risk-avoidance is the only sure way" to avoid unwanted pregnancy, disease and other emotional consequences of teen sexual activity, he said.
Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican and a frequent critic of the CDC, said yesterday that the new data are more evidence of "misplaced priorities and misspending" by the agency.
"Effective prevention against STDs and other communicable diseases requires targeting resources towards those interventions that actually work, such as routine testing, partner counseling and education that emphasizes risk-avoidance," said Mr. Coburn, an obstetrician-gynecologist.
So perhaps schools who hand out condoms to eleven-year olds should think again.
