Health officials warn that the rise in life-threatening sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is “out of control.”
According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, STIs are increasing at a worrying rate, putting the lives of millions of people at risk due to completely preventable infections.
“STIs should be a public health priority,” the CDC warned Tuesday.
The health agency noted that “the most alarming concerns” revolve around syphilis cases, which are at the highest level in more than seven decades.
Reported chlamydia cases have remained at a record high, but gonorrhea cases declined for the first time in at least a decade.
Both syphilis and gonorrhea can be fatal if left untreated for too long.
“The latest STI data from the CDC show that our nation faces a rapidly deteriorating public health crisis that puts real lives at stake,” the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) warned in a statement Tuesday. .
Data from 2022, the most recent available, showed that more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were reported in the United States.
STIs are increasing at a worrying rate, putting the lives of millions of people at risk due to completely preventable infections, the CDC warned. Chinnapong – stock.adobe.com
Late last year, Health and Human Services created the federal National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis (NSCSS) Task Force in an attempt to help slow the spread of the disease, but the impact has not yet been recognized.
According to CDC data, more than 170,000 cases of syphilis were reported in 1951. The number decreased dramatically after the widespread availability of antibiotics. By 1998, the number of annual cases had fallen below 40,000, before rising again over the past two decades.
“People are using condoms less and less,” Dr. Nima Majlesi, director of Medical Toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post, saying public health messages have “deemphasized” the importance of condoms. safe sex in recent years.
“People are using condoms less and less frequently,” Dr. Nima Majlesi, director of Medical Toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post. N Felix/peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com
STI rates have risen sharply across the country since COVID lockdown restrictions were lifted.
However, the NCSD cautioned that the 2022 data does not reflect the impact of the shortage of Bicillin LA (a drug for congenital syphilis) that began last spring, or last summer’s STI workforce cuts due to the agreement on the debt ceiling.
“The reality is that the 2023 data will be worse,” the NCSD stated.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn