JBLM Area Highest In Pierce County For Common STDs: Data

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA - The state Department of Health recently released the 2018 ranking of healthiest counties - and Pierce County did not fare so well.

Pierce County was ranked No. 19 out of the state's 39 counties, the lowest of the top three largest counties. King and Snohomish counties ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

One factor contributing to poorer health outcomes is the rate of sexually-transmitted disease infections. According to state data, Pierce County had about 555 STDs per 100,000 residents (the total county population is just under 900,000), high than the statewide rate of 406 per 100,000 residents.

One hotspot in the county, according to Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department data, is Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The number of chlamydia and gonorrhea infections in the 98433 zip code, which stretches from American Lake east to Spanaway, is the highest in the county.

Here are the zip codes with the highest number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases based on the latest-available data, according to county health equity maps:

Chlamydia

1. 98433 (JBLM) - 654
2. 98444 (Tacoma) - 288
3. 98496 (Lakewood) - 277
4. 98404 (Tacoma ) - 260
5. 98387 (Spanaway) - 230
6. 98405 (Tacoma) - 206
7. 98409 (Tacoma) - 199
8. 98445 (Parkland) - 184
9. 98374 ( Puyallup, South Hill) - 118
10. 98391 (Bonney Lake, Sumner) - 104

Gonorrhea

1. 98433 (Lakewood, JBLM, Spanaway) - 117
2. 98405 (Tacoma) - 113
3. 98404 (Tacoma) - 108
4. 98444 (Tacoma) - 98
5. 98409 (Tacoma) - 79
6. 98408 (Tacoma) - 70
7. 98496 (Lakewood) - 68
8. 98387 (Spanaway) - 50
9. 98455 (Spanaway) - 44
10. 98402 (Tacoma) - 43

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