WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases have been slowing in the country as syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia cases fell in 2023.
Last year, the rate of primary and secondary syphilis cases, which is considered as the most infectious stages of syphilis, fell by 10 percent, making it 'the first substantial decline in more than two decades.'
The agency noted that Gonorrhea cases dropped for a second year, declining 7 percent from 2022 and falling below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
'After nearly two decades of STI increases, the tide is turning. We must make the most of this moment-let's further this momentum with creative innovation and further investment in STI prevention,' Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement.
The primary and secondary stages of syphilis declined by 13 percent among gay and bisexual men. However, there was a 12 percent increase in the rate of cases of unknown- or later-stage syphilis.
Despite the progress, there were more than 2.4 million sexually transmitted infections reported in 2023. Of this, 1.6 million cases were of chlamydia, 600,000 were of gonorrhea, and more than 209,000 were of syphilis.
Also, about 4,000 cases of syphilis were reported in newborns, which means that the infection passed on to them from infected mothers.
The CDC has advised government to invest more in public health systems, prioritize the STI epidemic at all government levels, develop new prevention, testing and treatment solutions, and make STI services more accessible in local communities.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
