BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature has signaled its reluctance to back legislation that would dramatically overhaul a state law that makes it a felony for people who...

The virus that causes COVID-19 can be found in semen, Chinese researchers report in a small study that doesn’t address whether sexual transmission is possible.

South Carolina education officials have agreed not to enforce part of their own state law that bans sex education teachers from mentioning any relationships other than heterosexual ones — unless...

A South Carolina law banning sex education teachers from mentioning any relationships other than heterosexual ones — unless the talk involves sexually transmitted diseases — is fueling a climate...

LYNN, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts school district has voted to provide free birth control products and emergency contraception to students who ask to battle a high teen pregnancy rate and the...

HONOLULU (AP) — An increase in sexually transmitted diseases in Hawaii to the highest numbers reported in decades can be linked to the prevalence of online dating, officials said.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has seen a big jump in syphilis cases over the past five years and a spike in the number of infants born with the sexually transmitted disease.

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Utah County health officials say sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise in the region for at least the fifth year in a row.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' top health official says abstinence-only education isn't enough to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state health officials have confirmed a gonorrhea outbreak confined to a single county.

The Union-Bulletin reports that the Washington state department...

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A northern Idaho jury has found a Coeur d'Alene man guilty of molesting a 5-year-old child and infecting her with gonorrhea.

PHOENIX (AP) — A former nurse charged with raping and impregnating an incapacitated patient at a long-term care center in Phoenix has lost his appeal of a court order requiring a test to determine...

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A health department in southwest Kansas says a prankster spoofed its number to falsely notify people that they may have contracted a sexually transmitted disease.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is calling on residents to get tested for sexually transmitted infections amid a spike in cases of gonorrhea and syphilis...

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — The number of sexually transmitted diseases is on the rise in South Carolina.

That's according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and...

PHOENIX (AP) — A former nurse charged with sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman who later gave birth at a long-term care facility in Phoenix will appeal a court order requiring a test to...

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire city is offering free tests on Valentine's Day to ensure that the only thing couples are sharing is love.

The Telegraph reports that the Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services is offering free testing for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and hepatitis C on Thursday.

Editorials from around Pennsylvania:

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PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN - BOYS AS WELL AS GIRLS - AGAINST CANCER WITH THE HPV VACCINE, Nov. 19

The human papillomavirus is sexually transmitted. And as the Inquirer reported, genital strains of that virus "are so ubiquitous that almost all sexually active people — not just promiscuous ones — will be infected at some point."

Nearly 80 million people — about one in four adults — now are infected with HPV in the U.S.

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming will pay three years of salary and benefits for a county health department employee to focus on education, treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Gillette News Record reports the state Department of Health will pay $97,000 a year to support a full-time employee in Campbell County.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming health officials say 34 cases of syphilis have been reported in the state this year, a 36 percent increase from 2017.

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Health officials say cases of sexually transmitted diseases have increased in Montana.

Dr. Chris Baumert, a family physician at RiverStone Health, told the Billings Gazette there's been a steep increase in the number of cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City University medical students are pushing for a partner treatment plan for sexually transmitted diseases amid rising local and national STD rates.

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — A jump in reports of sexually transmitted diseases in Idaho has health experts worried.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma is following a national trend with a sharp increase in the number of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health says chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases rose from 29,716 in 2016 to 31,779 in 2017. The health department announcement came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that there were 2.3 million cases of STDs in 2017, an increase of more than 200,000 from the year before.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Leaders of a Maryland county outside Washington are considering providing free condoms to all area public high schools.

News outlets report Montgomery County is debuting a pilot program this school year that will make free condoms available at four high schools.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the shooting death of a pregnant woman and her fetus.

News outlets report 28-year-old Brandon Scott Donaldson was sentenced Thursday following a re-trial of the case. He was convicted in July of second-degree murder in the 2013 deaths of 19-year-old Marcia Crider and her fetus.

ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials are reminding people that condoms are not reusable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tweeted on its sexually transmitted disease site that condoms are for single use. Officials say they needed to tweet the message because people are washing or reusing condoms instead of throwing them away.

The agency also says condoms have expiration dates.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A newly released survey shows fewer Wisconsin high school students say they are sexually active, but the rates of sexually transmitted diseases have been on the rise.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Pregnancies and birth rates dipped to historic lows among Minnesota teens, while sexually transmitted diseases continue climbing, according to a report by the University of Minnesota.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's health department is offering free testing for sexually transmitted diseases at several parish health units this week.

The testing from Tuesday through Thursday aims to promote awareness about the diseases in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's STD Awareness Month.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State health officials are urging Indiana residents to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases as the nation marks STD Awareness Month during April.

The Indiana State Department of Health said Thursday that chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are of particular concern in the state. Indiana has nearly 31,000 cases of chlamydia, 9,500 cases of gonorrhea and 800 cases of primary and secondary syphilis reported in 2016.

KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Alaska's recent outbreak of chlamydia and gonorrhea is likely to place it in the top tier of national rankings for the two sexually transmitted diseases, a state public health nurse said.

Susan Jones, manager of the state HIV/STD program, said Alaska will likely be in the first- or second-place spot for both of the diseases, which continues the state's trend of leading the nation in outbreaks, the Peninsula Clarion reported .

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Health officials say gonorrhea rates in Wyoming jumped 50 percent from 2016 to 2017, contributing to a dramatic rise in the sexually transmitted disease over the past half-decade.

Courtney Smith, the communicable disease surveillance program manager at the state Department of Health, said Wyoming's gonorrhea case count has gone up 529 percent over the past five years.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — February is National Condom Month and New Mexico health officials are spreading the word.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the New Mexico Department of Health started the month with an Instagram post: "Wrap it up! It's your health - Take charge and be safe! #CondomMonth," paired with a red chile pepper outfitted with a condom.

BEND, Ore. (AP) — A big jump in cases of sexually transmitted diseases in central Oregon is causing concern and testing health agencies with fewer resources, according to health officials across multiple counties.

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — A health department in West Virginia will begin offering comprehensive harm reduction services with goals that include decreasing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The Register-Herald reports the Beckley-Raleigh County Health Department program will offer syringe exchanges, STD education and other services.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Customers at some St. Louis barber shops or beauty salons might walk out with new hair styles and some free condoms or information about sexually transmitted diseases.

It's all part of an effort called The Fade Out program that the St. Louis Health Department is organizing to combat the city's high STD rates, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Most of the participating salons are in African-American neighborhoods, which have a disproportionate rate of STDs.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — The health commissioner in a northeastern Indiana county that's experiencing an increase in sexually transmitted diseases says it's time for local officials to respond to that trend.

The Allen County-Fort Wayne Department of Health says the county saw an 11 percent increase in STD infections during the first nine months of 2017. That includes 674 new gonorrhea cases between January and September, giving the county nearly 190 more such cases than at the same time last year.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin saw an increase of about 13 percent in reported chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases in 2016, according to a report from the state Department of Health Services.

Brandon Kufalk, a public health educator with the agency's Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Section, told Wisconsin Public Radio that the increase may be due to more testing.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sexually transmitted diseases have increased across the U.S. for a third consecutive year and Louisiana ranked second-highest for each of the three STDs measured.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island health officials say cases of sexually transmitted disease in the state are at a 10-year high.

State Department of Health data released to The Providence Journal show chlamydia cases have risen 55 percent from 2007, gonorrhea cases are up 78 percent and syphilis cases have more than tripled.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials are reporting another record increase in infections from three sexually transmitted diseases.

More than 2 million new cases of chlamydia (kluh-MID'-ee-uh), gonorrhea (gah-nuh-REE'-uh) and syphilis were reported in the United States last year — the most ever.