America loves sex, but doesn’t seem to think much about protection, especially in the states with the highest STD rates in America. Sexually transmitted diseases are not just dangerous, they are costly as well, and it is estimated that the cost of STDs is around $16 billion a year. There are around 30 million infections that take place every year, and around half of them are among people between the ages of 15-24. Young people are not really known for their patience or precaution and in this case, the stereotype apparently seems true.
STDs seem to be very discriminatory not just in respect to age, as we mentioned, but gender as well. While men suffer from a reputation that they are way more promiscuous than women, the truth is that women are actually more likely to contract an STD, and are also more likely to contract STDs. On the other hand, STDs are often mild and show little to no symptoms which is why it might be possible that a large percentage of people do not even know that they are infected.
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STDs are also pretty racist apparently, with various racial and ethnic groups such as American Indians and African Americans more likely to be the victim of such STDs. This might be due to the fact that these groups are more likely to face poverty and be uneducated which is why there is a lack of awareness of these infections. STDs like to kick a guy when he’s down. Or more likely a woman.
Even now, while you’d consider America to be a liberal country, STDs are still often considered to be a taboo topic, and many people avoid talking about it at all. This leads to a lack of awareness, and the lack of knowledge can be very dangerous. After all, there was a time when people, due to a lack of information, thought that AIDS could be transferred through physical contact such as a handshake, which led to people who were known to suffer from the disease being treated like social pariahs. If you want to learn more about HIV and AIDS in America, head on over to the 11 States with the Highest HIV Rates in America.
As you might have suspected, colleges are often a breeding ground for STDs, no pun intended. Universities which are popular for their lack of sexual health include the University of Notre Dame and Duke University.
There are three main sexually transmitted diseases – chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. We have considered the states where these three diseases are the most prevalent overall. To manage that, we consulted the Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2015, which shows the number of cases for each disease in each state. We then calculated the average ranking for each state for all three diseases, and selected the top 10 to confirm the states which have the unfortunate distinction of having the highest STD rates. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the states where sex might have a more lasting impact than you wish, here are the states with the highest STD rates in America.
