New syphilis and gonorrhea infections decline in the U.S., slowing sexually transmitted disease epidemics

new york – The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases declined and chlamydia cases remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to federal data released Tuesday.

These numbers represent some good news regarding sexually transmitted diseases. amazing increase Because of the past few years Decrease in condom use,insufficient sex educationand testing and treatment declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the number of cases of syphilis, the most contagious stage, fell by 10% compared to the previous year. previous year —The largest decline in more than 20 years. The number of gonorrhea cases decreased by 7%, the second consecutive year of decline and the number was lower than in 2019.

Dr. Jonathan Marmin of the CDC said he was “encouraged. It's been a while since I've felt that way” about the nation's sexually transmitted disease epidemic. “Something is working.”

More than 2.4 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were diagnosed and reported last year, including 1.6 million for chlamydia, 600,000 for gonorrhea and more than 209,000 for syphilis.

Syphilis is of particular concern. For centuries, it has been a common but feared infectious disease that deforms the body and can lead to death. In the United States, the number of new infections has fallen sharply since the 1940s, when antibiotics to fight infections became widely available, and have continued to decline for half a century. However, by 2002, cases began to rise again, and men who had sex with other men were particularly affected.

A new report has found that cases of syphilis, the earliest and most contagious stage, have fallen by 13% among gay and bisexual men. This is the first such decline since the agency began reporting data for the group in the mid-2000s.

However, the rate of cases of unknown or late syphilis has increased by 12%, reflecting people who were infected several years ago.

case of Syphilis in newbornsThe number of people infected by infected mothers has also increased. There were approximately 4,000 cases, of which 279 were stillbirths and infant deaths.

“This means pregnant women are not being tested often enough,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.

What is causing some of the improvements in STD trends?According to multiple experts, one of the contributors is Expansion of applications Antibiotics as a “morning-after pill.” Studies have shown that taking doxycycline within 72 hours after unprotected sex reduces the risk of developing syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.

In June, the CDC began recommending doxycycline as a morning-after pill, especially for gay and bisexual men and transgender women who have recently been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. But health departments and organizations in some cities have been giving people the pills for years.

Some experts believe that the mpox epidemic of 2022 (which primarily hit gay and bisexual men) will affect sexual behavior in 2023, or at least the number of people getting tested when they develop a strange blemish. We believe this may have had a lasting effect on motivation.

Another factor may be an increase in the number of health-care workers testing for infectious diseases, conducting contact tracing, and connecting people to treatment. Congress has committed $1.2 billion over five years to expand the workforce, including $600 million to states, cities, and territories that receive STD prevention funding from the CDC.

David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, said last year was “the most funded activity in the entire United States.”

But Congress Ended funds early It cut $400 million as part of last year's debt ceiling agreement. A spokeswoman for Harvey's organization said some people have already lost their jobs.

Still, Harvey said there are reasons for optimism, including the increased use of doxycycline and the push for at-home STD testing kits.

There's also reason to think the next presidential administration may focus on sexually transmitted disease prevention. 2019, then-President Donald Trump announced a campaign The goal was to “eliminate” the U.S. HIV epidemic by 2030 (federal health officials later revealed that the actual goal was to significantly reduce the number of new infections to less than 3,000 per year).

According to CDC estimates, there were approximately 32,000 new HIV infections in 2022. But experts say increasing public health funding for HIV could also help reduce other sexually transmitted diseases.

“When governments put resources and money into it, we see a decline in sexually transmitted diseases,” Klausner said.

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