The health department said HIV cases increased by 33 percent and the situation is now an epidemic. 
 
 After decades of public health programs, awareness campaigns and the elimination of the stigma surrounding contraception, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases has been steadily decreasing. Until now. 
 
 Rhode Islanders — and much of the rest of the country — are apparently engaging in much riskier sexual behavior and the result is a dramatic swing from declining rates to skyrocketing rates in cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and other STDs, according to recently-released data by the state Department of Health. 
 
 From 2013 to 2014, the number of infections syphilis cases increased by a whopping 79 percent. Gonorrhea cases increased by 30 percent. Newly-identified HIV cases increased by nearly 33 percent. 
 
 And that data doesn’t take into account all the unreported cases. 
 
 “These data send a clear signal that despite the progress we have made in reducing STDs and HIV over the years, there is more work to do,” said Nicole Alexander-Scott, Director Designee at the health department. “We are fortunate in Rhode Island to have great partnerships among state agencies, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers to continue to educate, test, and treat for sexually transmitted diseases. This trend reminds us that we cannot become complacent.” 
 
 What’s the cause? Some of it comes from better testing from healthcare providers, officials said. But it’s clear that people are engaging in more high risk behavior. 
 
 “High-risk behaviors include using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters, having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the health department said in a statement. 
 
 
 
 The health department said that new HIV/AIDS and syphilis cases increased at a faster rate among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men at a faster rate than other populations. Infection rates of all STDs have a greater impact on African-American, Hispanic and young adult populations. 
 
 Much of world was in denial about AIDS until the mid 1980s, when the general public finally came to understand that the epidemic also affected heterosexual men and women, and children. Over the next two decades, public-awareness campaigns coupled with testing of pregnant women helped to nearly eliminate the number of Rhode Island babies born with HIV. Needle exchange programs also drastically reduced infection rates among injection drug users. 
 
 The health department said that education about prevention, routine testing and treatment are priorities. One effort involves collaboration with state agencies and community partners to promote free and low-cost HIV and STD testing services. The state education department also works under a grant to make sexual health education more accessible to high school students. Some of those measures include promoting abstinence. 
 
 “These new data underscore the importance of encouraging young people to begin talking to a doctor, nurse, or health educator about sexual health before becoming sexually active and especially after becoming sexually active,” said Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, EdD, RIDE HIV/AIDS Sexuality Specialist. “It’s never too early to learn about making HIV and STD testing part of routine healthcare. Doctors and nurses are trained to discuss sensitive topics like sex, and conversations with them are confidential. Health educators at schools or community health centers are great resources too.” 
 
 According to the health department: STDs are spread through anal, oral, or vaginal sex, and by skin-to-skin contact. People with undiagnosed or untreated STDs can develop long-term health problems and pass the disease to their sexual partners. Anyone who is sexually active can stop the spread of STDs and HIV: 
 
 • Practice safer sex. Use condoms or a dental dam each time you have sex. Birth control pills and spermicides do not prevent STDs. 
 
 • Get tested regularly for STDs and HIV. In Rhode Island, routine testing is recommended for anyone age 13 and older. 
 
 • Know your partner(s)‘ sexual health status. Even if you are treated for an STD, you could get re-infected because your partner was not tested and treated too. 
 
 • If you’ve been diagnosed with an STD, take the medication as prescribed and do not have sex with anyone until your healthcare provider says it is safe to do so. 
 
 • Avoid sex or close physical contact if you or a sexual partner has symptoms of an STD and see a healthcare provider for treatment. 
 
 For a list of HIV-testing sites, visit: www.health.ri.gov/find/hivtestingsites/ For a listing of STD services, visit: http://www.health.ri.gov/find/stdservices/ For more information about STDs, visit: http://www.health.ri.gov/diseases/sexuallytransmitted/index.php ||||| NEW YORK, NY — Rhode Island’s Department of Health says that sexually transmitted diseases are way up in the state, in part because of the increase of hookup apps like Tinder. 
 
 Between 2013 and 2014, cases of syphilis grew by 79%. HIV infections were up 33% and gonorrhea cases increased by 30%. STD cases for young adults are growing at a faster rate than the rest of the population. 
 
 Rhode Island says the recent uptick in STD cases follows a national trend. The state’s health department blamed “high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years,” including “using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters.” 
 
 A spokesman for Tinder did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 Social media and online hookup apps have been blamed for a rise in STDs in the past. 
 
 A 2013 New York University study found that Craigslist was responsible for a 16% increase in HIV cases between 1999 and 2008 across 33 states. Grinder, a hookup app for gay men, was associated with more than half of all syphilis cases in New Zealand in 2012, according to Christchurch Sexual Health Clinic. 
 
 “These new data underscore the importance of encouraging young people to begin talking to a doctor, nurse, or health educator about sexual health,” said Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, an HIV/AIDS sexuality specialist for the Rhode Island Department of Education, in a press release. ||||| The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) leads the state's effort to reduce infectious disease and support a healthier state. To alert Rhode Islanders of the epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HEALTH released data today showing that the rates of HIV and several other STDs are increasing. In Rhode Island, from 2013 to 2014: 
 
 â€¢ The number of infectious syphilis cases increased by 79%. â€¢ The number of gonorrhea cases increased by 30%. â€¢ The number of newly-identified HIV cases increased by nearly 33%. â€¢ New cases of HIV/AIDS and infectious syphilis continued to increase among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men at a faster rate than in other populations. â€¢ Infection rates of all STDs continued to have a greater impact on the African-American, Hispanic, and young adult populations. 
 
 "These data send a clear signal that despite the progress we have made in reducing STDs and HIV over the years, there is more work to do," said Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, Director Designee at HEALTH. "We are fortunate in Rhode Island to have great partnerships among state agencies, community-based organizations, and healthcare providers to continue to educate, test, and treat for sexually transmitted diseases. This trend reminds us that we cannot become complacent." 
 
 During the 1980s and 1990s, key public health programs helped reduce the transmission of HIV and other STDs. Routine testing of pregnant women has almost eliminated the number of Rhode Island babies born to mothers with HIV. Likewise, needle exchange programs have drastically reduced transmission among injection drug users. 
 
 The recent uptick in STDs in Rhode Island follows a national trend. The increase has been attributed to better testing by providers and to high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years. High-risk behaviors include using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters, having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 
 
 Education about prevention, routine testing, and treatment are priorities for HEALTH. The Department works with other state agencies and community partners to promote free and low-cost HIV and STD testing services throughout Rhode Island and to provide a variety of resources for clinicians to test, treat, and counsel patients and their sexual partners. In addition, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) works under a federal grant to make sexual health education more accessible to high school students, to increase awareness of and education about STDs, to correct misinformation among young people that may put them at higher risk of getting an STD, and to promote evidence-based prevention practices, including abstinence. 
 
 "These new data underscore the importance of encouraging young people to begin talking to a doctor, nurse, or health educator about sexual health before becoming sexually active and especially after becoming sexually active," said Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, EdD, RIDE HIV/AIDS Sexuality Specialist. "It's never too early to learn about making HIV and STD testing part of routine healthcare. Doctors and nurses are trained to discuss sensitive topics like sex, and conversations with them are confidential. Health educators at schools or community health centers are great resources too." 
 
 STDs are spread through anal, oral, or vaginal sex, and by skin-to-skin contact. People with undiagnosed or untreated STDs can develop long-term health problems and pass the disease to their sexual partners. Anyone who is sexually active can stop the spread of STDs and HIV: â€¢ Practice safer sex. Use condoms or a dental dam each time you have sex. Birth control pills and spermicides do not prevent STDs. â€¢ Get tested regularly for STDs and HIV. In Rhode Island, routine testing is recommended for anyone age 13 and older. â€¢ Know your partner(s)' sexual health status. Even if you are treated for an STD, you could get re-infected because your partner was not tested and treated too. â€¢ If you've been diagnosed with an STD, take the medication as prescribed and do not have sex with anyone until your healthcare provider says it is safe to do so. â€¢ Avoid sex or close physical contact if you or a sexual partner has symptoms of an STD and see a healthcare provider for treatment. 
 
 For a list of HIV-testing sites, visit: www.health.ri.gov/find/hivtestingsites/ For a listing of STD services, visit: http://www.health.ri.gov/find/stdservices/ For more information about STDs, visit: http://www.health.ri.gov/diseases/sexuallytransmitted/index.php
– Sexually transmitted diseases are staging a comeback in Rhode Island—with syphilis leading the pack, the state Department of Health reports. While HIV is up 33% from 2013 to 2014 and gonorrhea is up 30%, syphilis skyrocketed a whopping 79%. Why the sudden uptick? Officials cite better testing, but add that hookup apps like Tinder are at least partly to blame. "High-risk behaviors include using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters, having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol," the department said in a statement, adding that gay and bisexual men, African Americans, Hispanics, and young adults are the most affected by these growing rates. "These data send a clear signal that despite the progress we have made in reducing STDs and HIV over the years, there is more work to do," one official tells the East Greenwich Patch. Rhode Island officials say the stats are reflective of a national trend. A study from 2013 out of New York University blamed Craigslist for a 16% increase in HIV cases between 1999 and 2008 across much of the country, while the hookup app Grindr, which is primarily used by gay men, was blamed on playing a role in at least half of all syphilis cases in New Zealand in 2012, reports Fox News. (Syphilis, nearly eliminated in 2000, has increased sharply across the country, but among one group in particular.)