Good & bad news from the CDC about sexually transmitted disease rates

The Center for Disease Control has released its latest statistics about rates of STDs in the US. The bad news is that rates continue to soar. This is especially true for syphilis, which has reached a level not seen since 1950. Gay men are disproportionally affected.

There is, however, some good news. After climbing for the past ten years, cases of gonorrhea fell by 9% year on year.

The CDC data covers the year 2022. It says there were more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia diagnosed in the US that year. That’s a 1% drop on the 2021 figure.

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Syphilis cases have risen by 79% between 2017-2022. There has also been a 183% increase in cases of congenital syphilis in the same period. Those are cases of transmission from mother to baby during pregnancy. This resulted in 282 stillbirths and infant deaths in 2022, with women belonging to ethnic minorities disproportionately affected.

Levels of Chlamydia remained level.

DoxyPEP

In a statement, Dr. Laura Bachmann, the acting head of STD prevention at the CDC said more action is needed to bring rates of infection down. She pointed to new strategies such as the use of DoxyPEP.

“We must continue supporting opportunities and initiatives that enhance and expand STI service delivery, care, monitoring, research, and training. Innovative solutions like partnerships with retail health or pharmacies, STI express clinics, and setting up injectable syphilis treatment delivery programs can jump-start care for people.

“CDC is working quickly to offer final guidance on the use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (DoxyPEP) to prevent bacterial STIs. This is the first major bacterial STI prevention innovation in decades.”

Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC´s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, told the Associated Press that they were encouraged by the drop in Gonorrhea but would be looking closely at the 2023 figures to work out if this is a trend of blip.

“We are encouraged by the magnitude of the decline. We need to examine what happened, and whether it’s going to continue to happen.”

What is syphilis?

Syphilis was once at the point of being eliminated in the US. However, rates have continued to climb over the past two decades. In 2022, around half the cases of syphilis in the United States were among gay and bisexual men.

Syphilis is a bacterial infection that, among gay guys, is most commonly transmitted through unprotected anal sex, oral sex, and other activities like rimming.

The first sign of infection will be a painless sore, ulcer, or hardened lump near the point of infection. However, those infected may not even notice this primary infection or they will dismiss it as insignificant.

Wearing a condom will help prevent you from acquiring syphilis, but not in every case. Sometimes the sore may not be obvious or located on the genitals.

The sore or lump will go away. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re now free of syphilis.

You will become infectious to others, and although the bacteria may lay dormant in your system for years, it will eventually cause serious health problems.

Late-stage symptoms of syphilis – which may not occur many years later – can include blindness, deafness, paralysis, brain damage, and death.

That’s why it’s so important to have a blood test to check whether you have the infection. This is regardless of whether you think you have any symptoms and even if you always use condoms.

The importance of regular testing

Gay and bisexual men should have a blood test for syphilis at least once a year. If you have multiple partners, have an STD screening every 3-6 months.

Staff at sexual health clinics are not going to judge you and would prefer you to be diagnosed and treated promptly.

If you are diagnosed with syphilis, do also get checked for HIV. As syphilis symptoms can include open sores, this can increase the chances of HIV getting into your body.

Related:

What is DoxyPEP and should more queer men use it to protect their health?

Have you heard about DoxyPEP?