The sexually transmitted disease epidemic is “going out of control”, along with syphilis, HIV is on the rise

Health officials are warning Americans of a sharp rise in the number of sexually transmitted infections, including a 26% increase in new syphilis infections reported last year – the highest. since 1991 and most cases since 1948.

Last year alone, there were 1.6 million cases of chlamydia reported, nearly 700,000 cases of gonorrhea, more than 171,000 cases of syphilis, and 2,677 cases of neonatal syphilis, the CDC reports. fox. The sudden increase in the number of cases despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CDC says Country must renew and expand STD prevention and treatment efforts among cases

At an STD Monday medical conference, Dr. Leandro Mena of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that the country must “rebuild, innovate…expand… prevention (STD)” and treatment efforts in the context of widespread infection New York Post.

“It is imperative that we… work to rebuild, innovate, and expand STD (STD) prevention in the United States,” said Dr. Leandro Mena.

Rates of infection with some STDs, including syphilis and gonorrhea, have been increasing for many years.

Last year, the rate of syphilis hit its highest level since 1992, and had the most total cases since the park’s return in 1948. And the HIV infection rate is also skyrocketing, only last year alone increased 16%.

Be safe out there, STDs are on the rise! @CDCSTD pic.twitter.com/DAIPOPu8LY

– Kristle “K • Dub” Watson (@GodsKristle) September 20, 2022

Meanwhile, an international outbreak of monkeypox – which research shows is mainly spread by men who have sex with other men – has recently highlighted the county’s slide. about sexually transmitted diseases.

The executive director of the National Coalition for STD Directors, David Harvey, described the situation as “out of control”.

Dr Mena added that health officials are currently working on new approaches to the problem, including at-home testing kits for STIs to help people people more easily in the process of being educated about their infection.

Experts recommend home testing kits for STDs, using condoms in disease and infection prevention

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dr Mike Saag, an infection specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said much of the problem could be solved with increased condom use. Post.

“It’s quite simple. Dr. Saag said.

And it’s certainly worth preventing, considering the symptoms.

Syphilis – a bacterial disease – presents with sores on the genitals, but can eventually lead to more severe symptoms and even death if left untreated.

It wasn’t until about 1948 that syphilis infection rates began to decline dramatically with the advent of more widely available antibiotics.

It dropped to its lowest point in 1998, when fewer than 7,000 new cases were reported nationwide.

Rates of syphilis dropped after antibiotics became available in the 1940s, but cases began to rise again in 2002.

At the time, the CDC was so excited about the progress that they created a plan to completely eliminate syphilis in the United States.

However, cases began to spike again starting in 2002, mostly in bisexual and gay men. At the end of 2013, the CDC halted the campaign due to funding problems and escalating incidents, which involved more than 17,000 people that year alone.

In 2020, the number of syphilis cases reached 42,000. Last year, it rose to more than 52,000 cases.

And the rate of cases is also on the rise, with a 30-year high of around 16 per 100,000 people in 2021.

This rate is typically highest among gay men, as well as black, Hispanic, and Native American Americans.

STD rates for women increased by 50 percent last year, with officials warning mothers to pass on STDs to their children

The rate is still lower among women than men, but health officials note that the rate has risen more sharply than the rate of the opposite sex, rising about 50 percent last year.

And to make matters worse for women, mothers with congenital syphilis pass the virus on to their babies, which can cause blindness and deafness and even death in young children.

Such cases were almost rare a decade ago, with the number being only around 300.

Last year, however, that number spiked to 2,700, with 211 infant or newborn deaths, according to Mena.