An estimated one in five Americans have a sexually transmitted infection (STI), according to a new report.
Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that on any given day (overall) there were almost 68 million STIs and in 2018 26 million newly acquired (incidental) STIs.
What’s more, nearly 50 percent of all incidence diseases are diagnosed in those between the ages of 15 and 24 years old.
The report also found that STIs obtained that year cost the U.S. health care system only $ 16 billion in direct medical costs.
The CDC says its new estimates are critical to ‘better understanding the extent of STIs in the US’ and that more measures are needed to
New figures from the CDC estimate that in every given day in the United States, there were 67.6 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2018
Almost half, 45.4%, of all newly acquired infections – a total of 11.9 million – were among people between 18 and 24 years (above)
An SOS, sometimes called a sexually transmitted disease (STD), is an infection that is transmitted from one person to another through sexual contact, vaginally, orally or anal.
Some are bacterial infections that can be cured with a single dose of antibiotics, while others are viral infections that cannot be cured but can be modulated with antiviral drugs.
STIs do not always have symptoms and can have serious health consequences if they are diagnosed and not treated.
Some infections can increase the risk of HIV or cause chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammatory disease and even infertility.
At present, STIs cause approximately 2.7 deaths per 100,000 people, mainly due to HIV and HPV (human papillomavirus) infections.
For the report, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the CDC focused on eight sexually transmitted diseases: chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, syphilis, genital herpes, HPV, sexually transmitted hepatitis B and sexually transmitted HIV.
The number of common infections and incidents was calculated by multiplying the calculation of each STI per capita by the total population.
The results showed an estimated 67.6 million STIs on a given day.
With a population of about 320 million people, the authors say, it indicates that about 20 percent of Americans at some point in 2018 had an STI.
Researchers also found that there were approximately 26.2 million incidents in the US in 2018
The four most common infections were chlamydia, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, and HPV, accounting for 97.6 percent of all STIs on a given day and 93.1 percent of all newly related STIs.
Of the new infections in 2018, about half, or 45.4 percent, were contracted by Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.
“The burden of sexually transmitted diseases is staggering,” said Dr Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV / Aids, viral hepatitis, STDs and TB prevention, in a statement.
‘At a time when sexually transmitted diseases are at an all-time high, they fall outside the national discourse. Yet sexually transmitted diseases are a preventable and treatable national health hazard with a significant personal and economic impact.
The new infections are likely to cost the US healthcare system $ 16 billion in lifelong medical costs, most of which are related to HIV treatment (above)
What’s more, the new infections are likely to cost the US healthcare system about $ 16 billion in medical costs.
Most of the cost, $ 13.7 billion, is attributed to sexually transmitted HIV infections due to the lifetime of antiviral treatment.
The second most expensive SOA was HPV with about $ 755 million in treatment for not only the infection but also HPV-related cancers.
Young people aged 15 to 24 are responsible for about 60% of the combined health care costs for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, according to the CDC.
The agency says women make up nearly 75% of the $ 2.2 billion in non-HIV medical costs.
“There are significant human and financial costs associated with these infections, and we know from other studies that cutting STI prevention efforts results in higher costs,” said Raul Romaguera, acting director of CDC’s STD Prevention Division. statement.
“Preventing sexually transmitted diseases can save billions in medical costs, but more importantly, prevention will improve the health and lives of millions of people.”