Health officials are warning 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 on the rise at an alarming rate that puts millions of human lives at risk from entirely preventable infections.
“STIs must be a public health priority,” the CDC warned Tuesday.
The health agency said the “most worrying concern” revolved around syphilis cases – which were at their highest level in more than seven decades.
Reported cases of chlamydia remain at an all-time high but gonorrhea cases are down for the first time in at least a decade.
Both syphilis and gonorrhea can be fatal if left untreated for too long.
“CDC’s latest STI data shows that our nation is facing a worsening public health crisis with real lives at stake,” the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) warned in a statement on Tuesday.
The 2022 data — the most recent available — shows more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were reported in the United States.
STIs are on the rise at an alarming rate that puts millions of human lives at risk from entirely preventable infections, the CDC warns. Chinnapong – stock.adobe.com
Late last year, Health and Human Services created the National Congenital and Congenital Syphilis Federal Task Force (NSCSS) in an effort to help slow the spread of the disease, but its impact has yet to be determined.
According to CDC data, more than 170,000 cases of syphilis were reported in 1951. That number dropped dramatically after the widespread availability of antibiotics. By 1998, the number of annual cases had dropped below 40,000, before rising again over the past two decades.
“People are using condoms less and less often,” Dr. Nima Majlesi, Director of Medical Toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post, saying that public health messages have “underemphasized” the importance of safe sex in recent years.
“People are using condoms less and less often,” said 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 the lifting of the COVID lockdown restrictions.
However, NCSD cautions that the 2022 data does not reflect the impact of the Bicillin LA (congenital syphilis drug) shortage that began last spring, or last summer’s STI workforce cuts due to the debt ceiling deal.
“The reality is that the 2023 data will be worse,” NCSD stated.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
