(FOX 9) - Some sexually transmitted diseases and HIV rates decreased slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others - like gonorrhea - increased, according to new data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
The number of STD cases decreased 1% overall from 2019 to 2020, the data shows. Chlamydia remained the top reported STD in the state, although the number of reported cases decreased 11% from the year before, the first time chlamydia rates have decreased since 2009. The number of cases of gonorrhea, still the second most reported STD in the state, increased 27%.
Syphilis cases decreased 3% overall in 2020. According to a release, MDH is still responding to a syphilis outbreak in Cass and Beltrami counties. The latest data shows cases are leveling off, but health officials say syphilis remains a critical concern in those counties.
The number of new HIV infections decreased 18% from 2019 to 2020, according to the latest report. However, health officials noted an increase in HIV cases related to two different outbreaks, one in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in 2020 with cases dating back to 2018 and another in Duluth in 2021 with cases dating back to 2019. New infections in the outbreaks are primarily affecting people who people who use injection drugs or share needles, people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, men who have sex with men and people who exchange sex for money and other needed items, according to MDH.
MDH acknowledged disruptions in preventative care during the COVID-19 pandemic meant few testing opportunities in 2020, which may have affected the data.