Peninsula Daily News and The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Health officials say gonorrhea, the second most common sexually transmitted disease in the state, is spreading.
The number of gonorrhea cases diagnosed rose by nearly 40 percent in 2014 — from 4,395 in 2013 to 6,136 in 2014.
Health officials also reported a 33 percent increase from 2012 to 2013.
A spike was seen in the disease on the North Olympic Peninsula as well last year.
For all of 2014, Clallam had 13 cases of gonorrhea, said Iva Burks, director of the county’s Health and Human Services.
In all of 2014, Jefferson County had 21 cases of gonorrhea.
So far in 2015, Jefferson County has recorded six cases of gonorrhea, compared with from one to six cases annually most years in the past 10.
Three cases of gonorrhea have been reported in Clallam County for 2015, compared with seven at this time in 2014, four in 2013 and none for the same period in 2012, Burks said.
Unprotected sex
Burks said last year’s spike in gonorrhea was due to people having unprotected sex, improperly using condoms or having sex with more than one partner frequently.
“What we would recommend is, if you’re having sex with one partner who is stable, good,” Burks said.
“But if you’re having sex with more than one partner, then you should get tested for gonorrhea by your health care professional.”
Rates of infection have been climbing since 2009, according to The Associated Press, when 34 people per 100,000 contracted gonorrhea statewide.
The rate soared to 88 per 100,000 people in 2014.
According to the state, young adults are the likeliest to catch gonorrhea, although the disease has been reported in both men and women of various age groups.
