South Dakota STD Statistics

The United States has seen four consecutive years of rising rates of several common sexually transmitted diseases, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in South Dakota largely mirror what’s happening at the national level, though South Dakota generally is not one of the states with the highest rates of STDs.

Just how common are STDs here in South Dakota? How much more common have certain STDs grown over the past few years, and which areas of the state are the most prone to high rates of STDs? To answer those questions and more, we’ll dig deep into STD data published by the CDC.

Chlamydia Rates in South Dakota

South Dakota ranks just among the top half of the 50 states when it comes to how common chlamydia is in the state. South Dakota’s population-adjusted rate of 512.7 per 100,000 people is high enough for No. 23 overall among the states but is nearly one-third lower than that of Alaska, the state with the highest rate. It’s also lower than the overall U.S. rate, but by a smaller margin of just a few percent.

• See Best Ways to Test for Chlamyida

Chlamydia infections per 100,000 people, top 25

The chlamydia rate has varied quite a bit in South Dakota over the past several years, but it stands today at nearly 10% higher than it was in 2012.

South Dakota chlamydia rate by year (cases per 100,000 people)

Illinois is the only Midwestern state to place in the top 10 nationally, and South Dakota’s rate puts the state in the top half of the region.

Chlamydia infection rate, Midwestern states (cases per 100,000 people)

Gonorrhea Rates in South Dakota

South Dakota’s population-adjusted gonorrhea rate of 149.1 per 100,000 ranks the state at No. 29 overall, coming in both below the national rate (-13%) and well below the state with the highest rate, Mississippi (-52%).

• See Best Ways to Test for Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea infections per 100,000 people, bottom 25

The gonorrhea rate has risen steadily in South Dakota since 2012, climbing by more than 75% between 2012 and 2017.

South Dakota gonorrhea rate by year (cases per 100,000 people)

Ohio is the only state in the Midwest with a gonorrhea rate that is among the 10 highest, and South Dakota’s rate is low enough to place in the bottom half of the region.

Gonorrhea infection rate, Midwestern states (cases per 100,000 people)

Syphilis Rates in South Dakota

South Dakota is tied for the 10th-lowest rate of primary and secondary syphilis in the nation, posting a rate of 3.8 per 100,000 people, far lower than both the national leader, Nevada (-80%), and the overall U.S. rate (-60%).

• Best Ways to Test for Syphillis

Primary and secondary syphilis infections per 100,000 people

South Dakota recorded a recent high in the syphilis rate in 2014, and the rate had been falling since then, but 2017 marked a slight increase. Still, since 2012, the syphilis rate is up by a total of 72%.

South Dakota primary and secondary syphilis rate by year (cases per 100,000 people)

Four of the states with the 10 lowest rates in the country are in the Midwest, and South Dakota has the fourth-lowest rate in the region.

Primary and secondary syphilis infection rates, Midwestern states (cases per 100,000 people)

HIV & Other STD Rates in South Dakota

HIV

New cases of HIV are relatively rare in South Dakota, with less than 40 people being diagnosed in 2017. South Dakota’s population-adjusted rate of 4.3 per 100,000 is tied for 11th-lowest in the country, and the state saw the HIV rate drop by 10% between 2016 and 2017. See How to Test for HIV

Hepatitis B & C

Cases of acute hepatitis B are far less common in South Dakota than the rest of the country, but it’s an opposite picture for acute hep C. South Dakota’s hep B rate of 0.2 per 100,000 is much lower than the overall U.S. rate of 1 per 100,000, and the state’s rate has been cut in half since 2014. Acute hep C, on the other hand, occurs about twice as frequently here than in the U.S. as a whole. Historic data on hep C infections is not available. See How to Test for Hepatitis

HPV

Because it’s incredibly common, it’s difficult to pinpoint the precise number of people who are infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV, at any given time. But looking at the rates of certain cancers can help provide some context. That’s because for several cancers, HPV is the primary cause. This famously included cervical cancer but also anal, penile and several other types of cancers. The HPV-caused cancer rate in South Dakota is 11.4 per 100,000, just under the national median of 11.7 per 100,000. See How to Test for HPV

STDs in South Dakota Cities & Counties

While South Dakota generally is not among the states with the highest rates of many types of STDs, several of the state’s counties do have very high rates, and the states two major cities, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, account for a large percentage of cases.

Chlamydia

About 42% of chlamydia cases in South Dakota in 2017 were diagnosed among people in Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

South Dakota counties by chlamydia infection rate (cases per 100,000 people), top 10

Gonorrhea

Sioux Falls accounted for nearly 30% of gonorrhea cases, and Rapid City added another 22%.

South Dakota counties by gonorrhea infection rate (cases per 100,000 people), top 10

Primary and secondary syphilis

Nearly 3 in 4 cases of primary and secondary syphilis occurred in the Sioux Falls area.

South Dakota counties by primary and secondary syphilis infection rate (cases per 100,000 people)

Conclusion

South Dakota may not be among the states with STD rates that cause the highest degree of concern. But that doesn’t mean the states rates and increases don’t deserve attention. As the trends in South Dakota and across the country illustrate, a statistical increase here or there can quickly turn into a major public health problem. The best way for individuals to make an impact on the state of STDs here in South Dakota is to get tested so that they can be sure they are not passing STDs along to their sexual partners.

Additional References

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2017. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/SRtables.pdf
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HIV Surveillance Report, Diagnoses of HIV Infection in the United States and Dependent Areas, 2017. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/library/reports/surveillance/cdc-hiv-surveillance-report-2017-vol-29.pdf
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCHHSTP AtlasPlus. (Undated). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/atlas/index.htm
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV-Associated Cancer Rates by State, 2011-2015. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/statistics/state/index.htm

Note: Some states have published more recent data for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis. For states in which that’s the case, we have substituted the individual state data for 2018 and used that in our rankings, while other states’ rankings are based on 2017 numbers. In some cases, we assume that when the full national dataset is published by the CDC, states’ positions relative to other states will change some, though those changes are unlikely to be dramatic, since the CDC data comes from the states.

by AtHomeSTDKit

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