ST. LOUIS (AP) - For years, St. Louis has ranked among the worst U.S. cities for gonorrhea rates. Finally, those rates are on the decline.
City health officials said this week that annual federal health statistics show that St. Louis now ranks 12th in gonorrhea rates, down from second a year ago. The number of cases for the sexually transmitted disease dropped from 1,890 in 2008 to 1,296 last year, and the number has dropped 55 percent over the past four years.
St. Louis health officials credit better education efforts in city schools, earlier treatment of those infected, and the opening of a center that provides free STD testing.