HIV/AIDS & STIs Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Adolescent
Health Between 2004 and 2005 in Minnesota, the chlamydia rate
increased by 5% and the gonorrhea rate increased by 18%. STD
rates continued to be highest in the seven-county metropolitan
area, particularly in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years have the highest
rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea. In Minnesota, laboratory-
confirmed infections of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and
chancroid are monitored by the MDH. Other common sexually
transmitted conditions caused by viral pathogens, such as herpes
simplex virus (HSV) and human papillomavirus (HPV), are not
reported to the MDH. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually
transmitted diseases or STDs, also referred to as sexually
transmitted infections, do not refer to any one disease but
include more than 25 infectious organisms that are transmitted
through sexual activity and the dozens of clinical syndromes
that they cause. STDs are almost always spread