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Los Angeles is America's Epicenter of Chlamydia, Syphilis

It's all fun and games until you learn your sex partner lives in LA

By Olsen Ebright

| Thursday, Nov 19, 2009 | Updated 4:30 PM PST

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Los Angeles is America's Epicenter of Chlamydia, Syphilis

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We suddenly feel very, very dirty.

Los Angeles may be No. 1 in a lot of areas (diversity, traffic, the NBA), but a recently announced title is certainly one we'd like to give back.

According to a new report, Los Angeles has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for chlamydia and syphilis. We feel dirty just writing that sentence.

The report was released earlier this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported:

The annual figures, released earlier this week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that there were roughly 55,000 people in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area who tested positive for chlamydia, a slight increase from 2007 and the largest proportion in the nation reported to the CDC.

The data come just as the county Department of Public Health on Friday reassigned 10 employees from its STD program to other positions in the department to save money, said Dr. Peter Kerndt, director of public health's STD program.

"I think we have made enormous progress, but now is not the time to stop," Kerndt said, noting that even though reported cases of syphilis were higher for Los Angeles compared to other health jurisdictions, the numbers have decreased from 1,002 in 2007 to 889 in 2008.

But don't think Los Angeles is just famous for its chlamydia and syphilis. LA took the No. 3 spot for reported cases of gonorrhea, with 9,832 (down from 11,059).

According to the Daily Bulletin, STDs cost the national heath care system $15.9 billion annually.