The rate of gonorrhea cases in the San Diego metro area has increased significantly since 2010, according to recently released federal data on sexually transmitted diseases .

When the county’s health department publicized the new data earlier this month, it portrayed the spike as part of a broader trend.

Reported gonorrhea cases Source: Centers for Disease Control Source: Centers for Disease Control 0 40 80 120 0 10 20 30 40 Per 100 thousand people Per 100 thousand people (all stages) Reported gonorrhea cases Reported syphilis cases (all stages) 118.5 California 106.5 San Diego area 110.7 United States 29.8 California 30.7 San Diego area 20.1 United States ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 Source: Centers for Disease Control Source: Centers for Disease Control 0 40 80 120 0 10 20 30 40 Per 100 thousand people Per 100 thousand people (all stages) 118.5 California 106.5 San Diego area 110.7 United States 29.8 California 30.7 San Diego area 20.1 United States ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10

“Gonorrhea and syphilis cases increased across the nation in 2014, and San Diego was no exception,” public health officer Wilma Wooten said in a news release.

But the San Diego area’s increase in sexually transmitted diseases has been sharper, and more sustained, than the national average.

Local cases of gonorrhea have increased by nearly 70 percent since 2010, according to the report, while nationwide cases grew by 13 percent.

As a result, San Diego has gone from a rank of No. 34 in metropolitan areas for gonorrhea to No. 16.

Five years ago, there were about 65 gonorrhea cases for every 100,000 residents in the San Diego area, well below the nation’s rate of 100 per 100,000. New federal data show local rates now reach about 107 cases per 100,000 residents in 2014, falling just behind the national rate of 111.

“We weren’t trying to tone it down,” said Dr. M. Winston Tilghman, the sexually transmitted disease controller for San Diego County, who helped the department draft the release. “We were just trying to get an introduction that would grab people and engage people. The increase in our gonorrhea rates is concerning, and it’s primarily affecting men.”

The federal data show the rate of gonorrhea in males was more than double the rate in females, with men between the ages of 20 and 29 at the highest rate of infection. Tilghman said the many of the cases for males are occuring in the gay and bisexual communities, where sexual networks are smaller and the risks are higher.

“Basically what that statement is saying is that we’re also seeing increases like other parts of the country, with the exception of chlamydia, which has leveled off and actually decreased slightly over the past few years,” he said.

Reported syphilis cases Reported gonorrhea cases Reported syphilis cases (all stages) Source: Centers for Disease Control 0 40 80 120 Per 100 thousand people 118.5 California 106.5 San Diego area 110.7 United States ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 Source: Centers for Disease Control 0 10 20 30 40 Per 100 thousand people (all stages) 29.8 California 30.7 San Diego area 20.1 United States ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 Source: Centers for Disease Control Source: Centers for Disease Control 0 40 80 120 0 10 20 30 40 Per 100 thousand people Per 100 thousand people (all stages) 118.5 California 106.5 San Diego area 110.7 United States 29.8 California 30.7 San Diego area 20.1 United States ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10 ’14 ’13 ’12 ’11 ’10

A review of the federal data found that the San Diego metro area saw gonorrhea cases jump to 3,420 in 2014 from 2,825 in 2013, a 20 percent increase. Syphilis numbers grew to 986 from 791 over the same time period, a 25 percent increase.

The Centers for Disease Control report, released in November, provides data on a national, statewide and metropolitan level for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.

On a statewide level, California has the highest number of gonorrhea cases in the country, accounting for nearly 15 percent of all cases nationwide. It had more than the entire northeast and accounted for nearly 60 percent of cases in the west.

Tilghman said a range of factors could be driving the increases, such as limited funding for intervention programs and dating apps that make traditional public-health outreach methods less effective. He also said increases could be the result of more efficient and diligent screening to identify more cases, as well as an increase in the public’s access to health facilities.

The county currently operates four STD clinics, all of which offer full screening and treatment services. He said county residents also have access to a strong network of community health networks and family planning clinics, which provide the same, if not similar services.

A spike in local rates of congenital syphilis, which is when the disease is transmitted from an infected mother to her unborn child, is a cause for concern among public health officials as well.

The condition is preventable if women are treated with penicillin before giving birth, but cases left untreated can cause severe health effects. It starts with unexplained sores and rashes and can progress to paralysis, blindness, internal organ damage and death. The disease is also linked with higher rates of premature birth and stillbirth, and untreated children often develop problems in multiple organs.