Newborn babies.Photo: Mohamed Hammi/SIPA/Shutterstock
Rates of sexually transmitted diseases"remain far too high," the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday, with data from their annual report showing increases in gonorrhea and syphilis between 2019 and 2020.
“Rates of [primary and secondary] syphilis increased 24% among reproductive-age women from 2019 to 2020, resulting in increases in congenital syphilis,” the researchers said. “In 2020, there were 2,148 congenital syphilis cases, an increase of 15% since 2019.”
The researchers said that the best prevention is for prenatal care and syphilis testing, and the most common cause for the rise was a lack of access to both.
“While there were moments in 2020 when it felt like the world was standing still, sexually transmitted diseases were not,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said Tuesday. “The unrelenting momentum of STDs continued even as prevention and treatment services were disrupted.”
The researchers also found thatrates of chlamydiafell 13% over the time period, though they believe it was likely due to fewer screenings during the pandemic rather than a decrease in cases.
The majority ofSTD cases— just over half — occurred in people aged 15 to 24, and more than 3 out of 10 incidents occurred in non-Hispanic Black people, which the researchers said is likely due to a lack of access to health screenings.
“While the 2020 data shows that STDs increased among many groups, some racial and ethnic minority groups, gay and bisexual men and our nation’s youth continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic,” Dr. Leandro Mena, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, said in an accompanying letter. “These data illustrate the factors such as lack of access to regular medical care, discrimination, and stigma, continue to stand in the way of quality sexual health care for everyone who needs it.”
source: people.com
