Tagged: HIV testing

It’s Wyoming’s most prevalent sexually transmitted disease. Known as the silent infection, most men and women that have Chlamydia never show any symptoms. Left untreated, the infection can eventually lead to infertility in women as well as other complications.  

Kim Deti, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Health, says over 2,500 people were diagnosed with Chlamydia in the state last year—nearly 300 more than the previous year.

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and the Wyoming Department of Health is urging sexually active Wyomingites to get tested for STDs.

Epidemiologist Courtney Smith says it’s easier to contract HIV if you already have another STD.

“If people are already infected with an STD, it can cause things such as a chancre or a sore that can kind of cause a pathway for HIV to transmit through,” Smith said.

Smith says that anyone who is sexually active should get tested annually, and adds that they should also get tested any time they have a new partner.