Killeen, TX Among Cities With The Highest Rates Of STDs

Source: Sporrer/Rupp / Getty

The Center for Disease Control recently released its latest version of a report that measures the number of STD or STI cases in different US cities. The list analyzes STI cases for every 100,000 people, along with the number of cases of specific illnesses like chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV. Innerbody.com‘s research team dove into the C.D.C.’s latest stats to determine current trends, most of which have determined that STD cases are running rampant in Southern cities.

The top 10 has some rather shocking names attached to it such as Indianapolis, Shreveport, and Philadelphia but No. 8 on the list? Killeen, Texas.

Here’s the full top 20.

1. Baltimore, MD – 2,004 STD cases per 100,000 people.
2. Jackson, MS – 1,872 STD cases per 100,000 people.
3. Philadelphia, PA – 1,822 STD cases per 100,000 people.
4. San Francisco, CA – 1,754 STD cases per 100,000 people.
5. Montgomery, AL – 1,731 STD cases per 100,000 people.
6. Augusta, GA – 1,675 STI cases per 100,000 people.
7. Milwaukee, WI — 1,657 STI cases for 100,000 people.
8. Killeen, TX — 1,644 STI cases per 100,000 people.
9. Shreveport, LA — 1,615 STI cases per 100,000 people.
10. Indianapolis, IN — 1,613 STI cases per 100,000 people.
11. New York (The Bronx), NY — 1,609 STI cases per 100,000 people.
12. Fayetteville, NC — 1,559 STI cases per 100,000 people.
13. New York (Manhattan), NY — 1,542 STI cases per 100,000 people.
14. Tallahassee, FL — 1,502 STI cases per 100,000 people.
15. Columbus, GA — 1,440 STI cases per 100,000 people.
16. Peoria, IL — 1,421 STI cases per 100,000 people.
17. Washington DC — 1,393 STI cases per 100,000 people, including 17,480 chlamydia cases.
18. Columbia, SC — 1,390 STI cases per 100,000 people.
19. Denver​, CO — 1,379 STI cases per 100,000 people, including 6,928 cases of chlamydia overall.
20. Birmingham, AL — 1,372 STI cases per 100,000 people.

Now, what can we gather? Well, Augusta, Killeen, and Shreveport aren’t big cities in the slightest. However, they are all either home or close to major military bases. In terms of total STD cases including (HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea), the top 5 cities are as follows:

1. Los Angeles, CA (92,401)
2. Chicago, IL (58,322)
3. Houston, TX (36,710)
4. Phoenix, AZ (34,973)
5. Philadelphia, PA (28,866)

According to the CDC, over 2.4 million combined STD cases were reported in the U.S. in 2018 alone. What’s even crazier is that some STDs such as HIV and syphilis can be active in your body before signs of the infection become apparent. Thus, these stats don’t include the thousands of people who have an STD and don’t know it.

Again as the CDC always stresses, “If you are sexually active, getting tested for STDs is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health. Make sure you have an open and honest conversation about your sexual history and STD testing with your doctor…”

RELATED: First New Strain Of HIV In 19 Years Discovered

RELATED: Get Tested: Harris County Leads Texas In Number Of STDs