Alaska’s most commonly reported infectious diseases, aside from respiratory illnesses such as influenza, are from sexually transmitted infections, according to the state’s most recent annual report.
There were 5,118 cases of chlamydia in Alaska in 2023, the largest number among sexually transmitted diseases in the annual infectious disease report issued by the Alaska Department of Health.
The infectious disease annual reports are issued each year by the epidemiology section of the department’s Division of Public Health.
The second-highest number in the annual report was for gonorrhea, with 2,280 cases documented in 2023.
Totals for chlamydia and gonorrhea last year are similar to those shown in past annual infectious disease reports. Typically, the two diseases are the top positions in those reports.
Alaska has some of the nation’s highest rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, Alaska had the nation’s third-highest chlamydia rate and fourth-highest gonorrhea rate, according to the CDC.
There were 392 reported cases of syphilis in Alaska in 2023, according to the state epidemology report. Alaska’s syphilis rates in 2022 were higher than the national average.
Alaska – like much of the country – had a recent surge in cases of congenital syphilis, caused by infection of newborns by their mothers. That increase prompted the Division of Public Health early this year to recommend wider testing for the infection, especially for at-risk populations.
Hepatitis is another commonly reported infectious disease in Alaska, with 645 cases of chronic hepatitis C and 138 cases of chronic hepatitis B documented, according to the report.
The newly released annual infectious disease report does not fully reflect a recent surge in pertussis cases in Alaska and the nation. In 2023, there were 26 known Alaska cases of the disease, also called whooping cough, according to the report. That compares to only two in 2022, according to the report issued last year.
But Alaska case numbers grew substantially this year, with monthly totals that peaked in September at 129, according to the division’s epidemiology section.
Influenza and COVID-19 trends
Separately, the epidemiology section released its annual tally of influenza and COVID-19 cases. That report showed the changes in caseloads over the season that ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. It is the first such annual epidemiology summary with both influenza and COVID-19 totals.
An unusual feature of the just-completed season was the early peak of influenza cases, the report said, with a big increase in late fall.
“Influenza cases this season spiked earlier than any recent year on record, beginning in October 2023,” the report said.
For COVID-19, there was a surge in cases in midwinter, followed by another increase in the summer, the report said. That was similar to national trends, the report said.
Total reported cases of influenza and COVID-19 were slightly lower in the 2023-2024 season than in the prior season, the report said.
During that 2023-2024 season, there were 10 influenza-associated deaths and 80 COVID-associated deaths among Alaskans, the report said. Those fatal cases were identified through clinician reports, hospital records and reviews of death certificate data.
That compares to five influenza deaths in the 2022-2023 season, according to last year’s influenza report.
In calendar year 2023, there were 56 COVID-19 deaths in Alaska, according to the state’s annual vital statistics report.
Only 23.7% of Alaskans 18 and older were immunized against influenza during the 2023-24 season, a rate “significantly lower than the national average,” the report said. Only 13.4% of Alaskans 18 and older were considered up to date on the COVID-19 vaccine, a rate also well below the national average, according to the report.
The division conducts ongoing tracking of influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases and posts weekly updates that show seasonal trends. Total reported cases of RSV have been fewer than those of influenza or COVID-19, but there is a somewhat similar pattern, with increases in winter, according to the data.