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Samantha Hayes ReportingHealth care workers say parents will be shocked to find out what is happening in local clinics all over the state. There's been a dramatic increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases, mostly in young people.
There's a notable increase in the number of cases of gonorrhea and Chlamydia, and keep in mind these are reported cases. Health care workers believe there are thousands more, but many people who have an STD don't even know it.
Eyewitness News reported on the problem of kids and sexually transmitted diseases a year ago. Teenagers talked to our cameras openly about what their parents did not know.
Candice Lindquist: "I'm 17 years old and I've had 11 partners. Nearly everybody is having sex. Even kids you wouldn't think are."
That is what local health officials have noticed, but they see the other side, the scared faces of young people when they test positive for diseases they never thought they could get.
Lynn Beltran, Salt Lake County Health Dept.: "We are seeing they think they are not at risk because they are not having what are referred to as traditional sexual practices; and if they vary from that they think they are not at risk for disease transmission."
Graphs from the Utah Health Department offer a telling glimpse of the situation. The number of Chlamydia cases has increased over the last five years. And from 2001 to 2005 Utah's gonorrhea cases increased 221 percent; the health department says that is the largest increase in the country.
It shows up first in local clinics.
Lynn Beltran: "It doesn't seem to be going down, it doesn't seem to be leveling off and people need to know it's out there and need to know the risk."
In Utah County, for example, Chlamydia cases increased from 252 in 2004 to 421 in 2005. Gonorrhea increased from 34 to 60. A similar trend has been reported in Davis County.
Lynn Beltran: "Any sexual relationship is going to put them at risk, regardless of the specifics of it."
Lynn Beltran says she has seen a huge increase in the number of syphilis cases. She encourages everyone who is sexually active to get tested and educate themselves about these diseases.
