Forget bad SAT scores and peanut production stats. Georgia has earned the dubious honor of being near-tops when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases. According to the CDC, Georgia ranks 4th in the U.S. for syphilis, 7th for gonorrhea, and 8th for chlamydia.
Why are Georgia’s rates so bad? Blame it on a hush-hush attitude about sex, say some experts.
“Public health programs to prevent STDs have always been kept on the back-burner,” Brenda Mims, the infectious disease coordinator for the Valdosta-based South Health District, told the Public Health News Bureau.
“It’s just not something that anybody wants to talk about, so we don’t have the support for additional funding or a more balanced budget in those programs.”
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