re for their children, spouses, friends, and elderly relatives” (Campbell 144). Women play an important role as mothers and supporters, therefore it is more important for women to take care of themselves, and get treated for any kind of STD. A closer look at the area we live can show where we stand with STDs by age and gender. In our area, Pinellas and Hillsborough County Florida, the Florida Department of Health Division of Disease Control has recorded a surveillance report of Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, and Congenital Syphilis. Throughout the year of 1999, there have been 1,802 recorded cases of Gonorrhea, 2,795 cases of Chlamydia, 16 cases of Syphilis, and only 4 cases of Congenital Syphilis in Hillsborough county. The same year also records 1,839 cases of Gonorrhea, 1,274 cases of Chlamydia, 4 cases of Syphilis, and one case of Congenital Syphilis in Pinellas county. Gonorrhea ranks as the sixth disease and Chlamydia ranks as the second disease in Hillsborough County. In Pinellas county, Gonnorhea ranks as the fifth disease while Chlamydia ranks sixth. Females age fifteen through twenty-nine, rate the highest in Florida. Teenagers and those in their early twenties are at the highest risk for STDs and many reasons include vulnerability, drugs, and different sex partners. The age group of 15-29 years of age has proven over the past year of 1999, that they had the highest rate of reported STDs. Since the female gender plays more important roles, their statistics on STD are very important. In Florida, the highest number of cases of Syphilis in 1988-1998, are in the age group of twenty-five through twenty-nine. This total came out to be 2,225 cases of Syphilis for this age group of the female gender. Also, Gonorrhea ranks the highest STD among Florida’s ages of fifteen through nineteen, and the total cases is 35,062 for this age group of the female gender. Moreover, Chlamydia ranks the highes...
