A gonorrhea epidemic has hit Oregon amid public health concerns that the disease is becoming immune to standard treatment.
Since 2012, cases have nearly tripled statewide, affecting just about every part of Oregon where there is a river nearby, including rural counties where infections have been traditionally low.
Officials in some counties have become so concerned that they’ve launched public awareness campaigns, with ads on dating sites, Facebook and Google. Word has it, the disease is spreading from a single source. That source appears to a person who has posted threads on an online cigar forum looking for people to join him for a camping trip.
Officials reached out to representatives of the forum, but thus far they have been unable to reach a live person for comments. These public service ads specifically caution people to avoid vans by the river where a paunchy fair skinned WM hangs out smoking cigars. In others, specialists have gone van door-to-van door, trying to track down infected people to get them treated.
For more info see:
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2017/07/top_10_oregon_counties_for_gon.html