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STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Reports
March 2008
Monthly STD Report − March 2008
St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment
Alison Tucker, MSc
STD cases include Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis
For the month of March, St. Charles County had 42 laboratory confirmed STD cases. This is lower than numbers seen in previous months of March (60 cases in 2007, and 67 in 2006). The number of Gonorrhea cases this past March is half of what we saw in 2004 and 2005 and about one third of what was reported in 2006 and 2007.
The graph below shows number of diagnoses for each STD, but unlike the above graph, it displays the STD rates per 100,000 people in St. Charles County using yearly population increases from the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County (http://www.stcc-edc.com/facts/index.php3). Given the population increase in St. Charles over the past few years, it is important to look at rates to compare STD morbidity trends. From this graph we see that Gonorrhea rates have decreased slightly, but that Chlamydia and Early Syphilis rates are up so far this year compared to the same time previous years.
The chart below compares monthly STD case totals from 2004-2008. This graph is intended to show the seasonality of STDs in St. Charles County. We can see that the number of STDS in St. Charles County last year remained the same or slightly below the previous 4 year mean. The 3 graphs that follow display the same data broken down by diagnosis and from here we see that Gonorrhea cases are below last year’s numbers and the 4 year mean.
Zip codes and STD Rates
The following table shows the March 2008 rates and the previous 4 year mean rates of STD cases per zip code per 10,000 people. This was done using the 2000 population estimates for each zip code. The rates most likely are inflated due to the current 2008 population estimate for each zip code.
We can see from this table that the highest number of cases in March and year to date is in the 63301 (St. Charles City) zip code, but the highest rate of STD's is in the 63385 (Wentzville). Both these areas also have the high numbers of college students.
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March 2008 |
March 2004–2006 |
YTD 2008 |
| Zip Code |
Population |
Number of
STD Cases |
Mar 2008
Rate/10,000 |
Previous 4 Year Mean |
Pr 4 Year
Mean Rate/10,000 |
Number of
STD Cases |
YTD 2008
Rate/10,000 |
| 63301 |
46059 |
8 |
1.7 |
14.5 |
3.1 |
34 |
7.4 |
| 63303 |
41575 |
6 |
1.4 |
8.8 |
2.1 |
20 |
4.8 |
| 63304 |
38586 |
4 |
1.0 |
5.8 |
1.5 |
10 |
2.6 |
| 63332 |
1163 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1 |
8.6 |
| 63341 |
3154 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.8 |
0 |
0.0 |
| 63348 |
4460 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.6 |
2 |
4.5 |
| 63366 |
57519 |
6 |
1.0 |
9.3 |
1.6 |
18 |
3.1 |
| 63367 |
8197 |
0 |
0.0 |
1.8 |
2.1 |
3 |
3.7 |
| 63368 |
46169 |
4 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
9 |
1.9 |
| 63373 |
685 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0.0 |
| 63376 |
68970 |
5 |
0.7 |
13.5 |
2.0 |
27 |
3.9 |
| 63385 |
13931 |
5 |
3.6 |
4.8 |
3.4 |
18 |
12.9 |
| 63386 |
598 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1 |
16.7 |
| unknown |
unknown |
4 |
unknown |
1.3 |
unknown |
14 |
unknown |
Gender and STDs
As noted by the chart below, females outnumber males with lab-confirmed STDs. However, by looking at the 3 graphs below this graph we see that this gender discrepancy is really only seen among Chlamydia cases, it is not seen among Gonorrhea and Syphilis cases.
Age Groups and STDs
The highest numbers of STD cases have occurred within the young adult population 15-29 year olds. Steps to further improve STD interventions and/or education may need to be addressed.
What is interesting about the graphs below, particularly the graph displaying Gonorrhea numbers, is that females outnumber males in the 15-29 age group, but conversely the males outnumber the females in the 30–39 and 40–49 age groups.
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