Study finds STDs on rise in La Crosse County

La Crosse County’s health department is worried about a spike in sex-related diseases happening in the area.

The number of cases of three specific STDs has increased at least 25 percent in the county over a three-year period — ailments such as syphilis and chlamydia — while and gonorrhea has gone up 45 percent.

Health education manager Paula Silha would like to see young people get more education about those diseases.

“I’m not advocating that we go back to the morality of the 1940s,” she said. “I just want people to be responsible and protect themselves.”

Focus group discussions on STDs were conducted among local college students in the past year.

Two University of Wisconsin-La Crosse professors will present their findings to the county health board during a meeting tonight. Their study was of young people’s attitudes toward sex and how much they know about sex-related diseases.

Silha thinks parents ought to talk more seriously to their kids about the risks of sexual behavior.

No specific prevention program is being suggested right now, with more study planned in the future.