STD Experts Say US Faces Out of Control Syphilis and Gonorrhea Crisis

STD experts issued a warning this week about a crisis in sexually transmitted diseases. At the biannual STD Prevention Conference, David Harvey, the executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, described the situation as out of control.

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Gonorrhea and Syphilis Cases Rises

Preliminary CDC figures show an increase in gonorrhea and syphilis occurrences in 2021. There are three STDs that municipal health departments are required to monitor: gonorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia, which totaled 2.5 million new cases.

With a total of 171,074 new cases of syphilis in 2021, this is the highest number so far since 1991. Congenital syphilis, which is transmitted from mother to fetus, has also increased according to the data. There were 2,677 new cases reported in 2021, and at least 139 newborns died from it in the previous year.

Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said during the conference that an increase in unprotected sex, a decline in STD testing throughout the pandemic, and the expansion of monkeypox have probably all contributed to the rise in these cases.

Syphilis Prevention and Cure

According to Insider, syphilis can cause a serious infection and death. But it can be treated with the antibiotic penicillin. This is the same treatment for gonorrhea. However, experts have cautioned that some antibiotics may not be effective against the illness.

The rates are higher among men who have sex with other men, as well as among Native Americans, Black, and Hispanic Americans. Officials observed that although the rate for women is lower than the rate for men it has been rising more sharply by almost 50% last year.

As soon as antibiotics were made widely accessible in the 1940s, according to the Associated Press, the number of new cases of syphilis in the U.S. drastically decreased. By 1998, when fewer than 7,000 new cases were reported nationally, they had reached their lowest level ever. The CDC established a campaign to eradicate syphilis in the United States after being inspired by the progress of the project in eliminating the disease.

On the other hand, in 2021, the Oxford University researchers who worked with AstraZeneca to develop the COVID-19 vaccine worked on developing a vaccine to treat the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. The Jenner Institute in Oxford received a $2 million grant from the international antibacterial funding program CARB-X to create the cocktail.

Experts Look Forward to an Economical Future Testing

The CDC's Division of STD Prevention Director, Dr. Leandro Mena, stated that it is imperative to rebuild and develop new STD prevention techniques. Mena suggested that lowering STD stigma, encouraging condom usage, and expanding testing options could all help decrease STD infection rates. At-home STD tests may usher in a new era in STD prevention, claims Mena.

Mena envisioned that, in the future, testing might be as easy and economical as performing a home pregnancy test.

Harvey stated that the National Coalition of STD Directors, his organization, and other public health organizations are requesting $500 million from the government for STD clinics.