Gonorrhea

Post updated 12/16/14 with response from St. Louis City Health Department.

A new federal report shows that the city of St. Louis had the highest rate of chlamydia and the second-highest rate of gonorrhea infections among major U.S. cities in 2013.  

"We've had persistently high rates for a long time," said Brad Stoner, who directs the St. Louis STD and HIV Prevention Training Center at Washington University. "These rates are difficult to bring down unless we develop a concerted, community-wide effort to reach out, screen and treat populations at risk." 

New research out of Washington University has found that giving women free birth control does not increase risky sexual behavior.

The analysis included 7,751 St. Louis-area women between the ages of 14 and 45.

It was part of an even larger effort called the Contraceptive CHOICE Project, whose goal is to promote the use of long-term contraceptive methods like intrauterine devices (IUDs) or implants.

St. Louis continues to have some of the highest rates of two common sexually transmitted diseases in the country.

According to data released on Wednesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, St. Louis ranked second highest among U.S. cities for per capita rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Updated with full data tables at 2:09 p.m. (see below)

Rates of three sexually transmitted diseases are up in the St. Louis area, according to an annual report released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.