Chlamydia Rates
Summary Indicator Report Data View Options
Chlamydia Cases per 100,000 Population by County, New Mexico, 2021
Chlamydia Cases per 100,000 Population by Public Health Region, New Mexico, 2020
Why Is This Important?
Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease. Even though symptoms of chlamydia are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem(1). It is the leading preventable cause of infertility, and screening and treatment are the best means of preventing it.
Definition
Chlamydia cases reported in the state of New Mexico per 100,000 population.
Data Sources
- U.S. Data Source: Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
(http://gps.unm.edu/) - New Mexico Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NM-EDSS), Infectious Disease Epidemiology Bureau, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
(https://www.nmhealth.org/publication/view/policy/372/) - Patient Reporting Investigating Surveillance Manager, Infectious Disease Bureau, New Mexico Department of Health
How the Measure is Calculated
| Numerator: | Number of cases of chlamydia reported to the state of New Mexico (and Centers for Disease Control) in New Mexico residents from all health care providers. |
| Denominator: | Total Population |
How Are We Doing?
Overall, chlamydia rates have been increasing from 2014 (546.0 per 100,000 population) to 2020 (567 per 100,000 population). That was a slight dip from 2019, when the case rate was 681 per 100,000. That may have been due to a decrease in reporting due to the Covid-19 pandemic; however, that is conjecture. In 2020, chlamydia rates were highest in the Black/African American race/ethnicity category (738.3 per 100,000), second highest in the American Indian/Alaska Native population, (617.6 per 100,000 population), and third highest in the Hispanic category (429.3 per 100,000). The lowest rates were found in the Asian/Pacific Islander category (128.3 per 100,000 population) and White category (227.9 per 100,000) respectively. By region, the highest Chlamydia rate for 2020 was found in Northwest region (962.6 per 100,000), followed by the following regions which had close rates: Southeast (562.6 per 100,000), Southwest (551.8 per 100,000), and Metro (542.8 per 100,000). The lowest rate was in the Northeast region at 371.0 per 100,000.
How Do We Compare With the U.S.?
Chlamydia rates in New Mexico have consistently ranked higher than U.S. rates from year 2011 to 2019. In 2019, New Mexico had the 5th highest Chlamydia rate in the U.S, and in 2020 New Mexico was 7th in the nation.
What Is Being Done?
Chlamydia testing is performed on females under age 26 at approximately 200 test sites including 54 public health offices and family planning and other provider agreement sites, in addition to routine treatment and surveillance activities.
Evidence-based Practices
Despite a recommendation from the U.S Preventive Services Task Force to annually screen all sexually active females under age 25, data from health plans shows that fewer than 50% of that group actually gets screened each year. Chlamydia is the leading preventable cause of infertility, and screening and treatment are the best means of preventing it.
Other Objectives
Similar to HP2020 objectives STD-1: Reduce the proportion of adolescents and young adults with Chlamydia trachomatis infections and STD-2: Reduce Chlamydia rates among females aged 15 to 44 years. New Mexico Community Health Status Indicator (CHSI)
More Resources
References: (1) Chlamydia - CDC Fact Sheet. http://www.cdc.gov/std/Chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm last reviewed on 01/19/2021. (2) https://www.cdc.gov/std/statistics/2020/tables.htm Reviewed on 5/6/2022