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Sexually Transmitted Disease

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Sexually Transmitted Disease, or STD, refers to any of 25 disease-causing organisms that can be transmitted through sexual contact. STDs are a major public health challenge, across the nation and in our community. In 2010, Ledge Light released reports on the level of two STDs (Chlamydia and Gonorrhea) in Groton and New London. These are two of the STDs that are 'Reportable' under CT law, which means health care providers and laboratories are required to report all cases of these diseases to the CT Department of Public Health and the local health department. There are other STDs that are not required to be reported and so could not be analyzed in these reports. The reports document that there are disconcerting rates of these diseases in our community.

Although Chlamydia and Gonorrhea can be treated with antibiotics, they often go undiagnosed and untreated and lead to very serious complications and health problems down the road. Public health researchers estimate that the number of cases of these diseases that are actually reported represent only 40% of the actual number of cases. This means we have many people who are infected (and could be infecting others) without realizing it.  

Ledge Light and our community partners are committed to turning around the trends of disease and creating healthy futures for all our young people. If you are interested in joining the regional task force that will be working to create a plan to stop the spread of STDs, please register here.