The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a grim new report confirming that sexually transmitted diseases have reached a record high for the sixth year in a row.
According to the latest data, a whopping 2.5 million Americans had chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis infections in 2019. Preliminary data for 2020 also indicate that the trend continued last year.
Racial and ethnic minorities, gay and bisexual men, and the youth of the country were hit the hardest, according to CDC data.
Black people have SOS rates between five and eight times higher than white people, while the number of SOSs was one to two times higher than white people.
Gonorrhea was 42 times higher than average among heterosexual men in some areas of the USA, while gay and bisexual men accounted for almost half of the primary and secondary syphilis infections.
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Chlamydia cases increased by 61% and gonorrhea cases increased by 42% among young people aged 15 to 24, while syphilis infections among newborns doubled between 2015 and 2019.
“Less than 20 years ago, the number of gonorrhea in the U.S. was at historic lows, syphilis was close to eradication, and advances in the diagnosis of chlamydia have made it easier to detect infections,” said researcher Dr. Raul Romaguera, acting director of CDC’s division STD said. Prevention, with an increase of almost 30% in these STDs between 2015 and 2019.
Romaguera added that historical gains made to curb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases have ‘unraveled’ in recent years.
To insult malice or infection as the case may be, experts fear that sexually transmitted diseases may increase due to a lack of testing due to the coronavirus.
As staff have been redeployed to tackle the pandemic, STD selection services are now under resources, meaning infections are unlikely to be controlled, especially since patients are at least initially asymptomatic.
Untreated infections can lead to increased risk of pelvic inflammatory pain, chronic pain, infertility and serious complications with future pregnancies, including potentially disastrous consequences.
“This new data should create a sense of urgency and mobilize the necessary resources so that future reports can tell a different story,” Romaguera said, adding: “We must now tackle the challenge.”
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