Statistics
Important notes regarding statistics
Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. (Aaron Levenstein)
Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off. (Paul Brodeur, Outrageous Misconduct)
Then there is the man who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth of six inches. (W.I.E. Gates)
The average human has one breast and one testicle. (Des McHale)
Statistics may be defined as "a body of methods for making wise decisions in the face of uncertainty". (W.A. Wallis)
The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic. (Joe Stalin, comment to Churchill at Potsdam, 1945)
That said: here's what we believe to be true
Anyone can get an STD. Some groups are statistically affected more than others.
1 in 4 teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease. Read story from the CDC
The U.S. syphilis rate increased for the seventh consecutive year in 2007, largely reflecting continued increases among men who have sex with men (MSM). Read story from the CDC
Young African American Adults At High Risk for HIV, STDs Even In Absence of High-Risk Behaviors. Read story from the National Institutes of Health
Tompkins County is much like the rest of the nation.
The after decades of decline, the recent increase in local syphilis cases mirror's that of the rest of the U.S.
In Tompkins County, and in the rest of the nation, this trend is disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men (MSM).
