Gonorrhea on the rise

Gonorrhea on the rise

Story Published: Oct 3, 2008 at 11:40 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 2:19 AM PST

By Stephanie Smith

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COLFAX - Whitman County Officials are warning the public of a possible gonorrhea outbreak.

"We have been watching a trend this year of more cases of reported gonorrhea," said Whitman Co. Public Health Administrator Fran Martin. "We've had five kind of right close together and we've tried to investigate to see if there was a common source, but we have found no common source."

Since no common source was identified, it is believed there is a bigger outbreak in the county. There have been 14 cases reported so far this year, three more than the previous yearly record of 11.

"Gonorrhea is an infection, a sexually transmitted infection," said Martin. "It is treatable. The problem with it is, in males, it is symptomatic and so they get pain when they are urinating and they get drainage. Women sometimes get no symptoms."

Those who have been diagnosed are between 18 and 23 years old.

Martin said safe sex practices, monogamy and abstinence are the best ways to prevent getting any STD.

She said syphilis and chlamydia are also on the rise in the county.

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