According to the South Dakota Department of Health, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS cases have risen in the state, while chlamydia cases are on the decline, reports the Mitchell, South Dakota, newspaper The Daily Republic (mitchellrepublic.com, 1/3).

The article adds that the state health department saw a 4.5 percent increase in the number of gonorrhea cases and a 3 percent increase in HIV/AIDS cases from 2005 to 2006. The state has also seen a rise in HIV cases among women.

“The take-home message here is that STDs are certainly present in South Dakota,” said Bonnie Jameson, administrator for the Office of Disease Prevention in Pierre, South Dakota. “We don’t want individuals to become displaced and think that the risk is not here,” said Jameson.