Florida ranks 1st out of all 50 states for new HIV infection rates.

The rates of three nasty STDs — chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis — have been steadily climbing in Orlando over the last few years, highlighting the urgent need for greater access to STD testing and education on safe-sex practices.

Local health experts say many factors are contributing to the rising rates of STDs and HIV.

Among the drivers are online hookup sites, lack of sex education and a reduced fear of dying from HIV infections, particularly among young men who have sex with men, they say.

“People aren’t even thinking about sexually transmitted illnesses anymore, because they think they can just get treated for that,” said Lindsay Kincaide, the HIV-program coordinator at the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida. “So what was really causing people to use protection wasn’t really the fear of sexually transmitted infections but the fear of HIV/AIDS.”

Another commonly cited issue is that young people are not being properly educated about safe sex practices in in schools.

“I’m not saying that [schools and government] are 100% responsible [for not educating them] but it’s got to be a factor. It’s very troubling because these are young people in the prime of their lives.” said Luigi Ferrer, HIV/AIDS rights activist and director of health services for Pridelines in Miami. “I’ve lost track of the number of times young people have asked me questions about STDs that they should have learned the answer to in school. We can’t expect them to protect themselves.”

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