Provo • Utah County health officials say sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise in the region for at least the fifth year in a row.

The Provo Daily Herald reports officials say each of the four major sexually transmitted diseases tracked by the health department increased last year from previous five-year averages.

That means sexually transmitted diseases were some of the most-diagnosed infectious diseases in 2018 in Utah County.

Officials say there were 1,257 reported cases of chlamydia last year, making a chlamydia diagnosis more common than influenza. Numbers show chlamydia's upward climb from a five-year average of 999 cases a year from 2011 to 2017.

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