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Statewide, they’ve increased about 22 percent from 2000 to 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to reports by the state Department of Health and Family Services. The state tracks cases of chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, gonorrhea, chancroid and pelvic inflammatory disease.
About 30,400 cases of STDs were reported Wisconsin in 2006. More than half were in the eight counties in the southeastern part of the state: Milwaukee, Jefferson, Kenosha, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.
The northeastern region of the state, which includes the Fox Cities, accounted for slightly more than 12 percent of cases in 2006.
But in Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago and Waupaca counties the number of reported cases increased nearly 80 percent, from 708 in 2000 to 1,271 last year.
“(Rates have) been going up steadily as they have around the state,” said Kurt Eggebrecht, health officer for the city of Appleton. “That’s something we are tracking and are concerned about.”
A push to increase testing and reporting of diseases could account for some of the increase, Fox Cities officials said.
“The predominant sexually transmitted disease reported to us has been chlamydia,” said Melody Bockenfeld, Outagamie County public health manager. “There has been an increased focus on screening for that. So it could be increased detection, increased screening.”
Chlamydia is a bacterial disease that can lead to infertility.
Other health officials said the growing number of cases is a concern because it’s not clear how much is due to better reporting and how much is due to the spread of disease.
“I tend to think that people aren’t as aware as we would like them to be,” said Lois Gruetzmacher, public health nurse supervisor for Outagamie County.
The number of cases can be reduced if people practice abstinence and safe sex, Bockenfeld said. They also need to know what symptoms to look for and get treatment immediately.
