Bell County leads all other counties across the Central Texas region in sexually transmitted infections and disease.
The Texas Department of State and Health Service's most recent STD Surveillance Report details Bell County as being ranked at #12 in the state for the most cases of syphilis, #8 for chlamydia and #7 for gonorrhea.
The Bell County Health District emphasized of all the concerning diseases and infections, gonorrhea has been dubbed an urgent concern by the Center of Disease Control after estimating over half a million cases each year are becoming antibiotic resistant.
Jody Nicholas, the Executive Director of the Greater Killeen Community Clinic, explained each week they receive an approximate 120 calls from people concerned with their sexual health and requesting to be screened.
Nicholas says she believes Bell County's case numbers seem high because of the high population, in part due to the large number of residents on Fort Hood.
"I think a lot of that is because of our proximity here to Fort Hood and also because of the area, you know Killeen is one of the largest cities," said Nicholas.
The research conducted by the Texas Department of State and Health Service shows steady growth in sexually transmitted disease within Texas over the last decade.
