Minnesota Health Officials Alarmed By STD Surge

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota health officials say they're alarmed by a surge in sexually transmitted diseases.

Reportable STDs in Minnesota include chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. They rose to a new high of 17,760 in Minnesota in 2010. That's 848 cases more than 2009.

Chlamydia reached a record 15,294 cases last year, a 6 percent increase. Nearly one in three cases of chlamydia occur in Greater Minnesota, and about 70 percent hit teens and young adults ages 15 to 24.

Wednesday's report also shows the number of syphilis cases rose to a 30-year high of 347 in 2010, a 62 percent increase from 2009.

Most of those cases involved men who had sex with men.

Gonorrhea remains the second most commonly reported STD in Minnesota with 2,119 cases in 2010, down 9 percent.