Syphilis and Other STI Rates Skyrocket

At a press conference on the second day of the biennial National STD Prevention Conference taking place in Washington, D.C., the CDC presented preliminary data showing five-year trends in "sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that included preliminary data for 2017. The analysis found that the nearly 2.3 million cases of Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reported to CDC for 2017 exceeded the previous 2016 record by more than 200,000 cases."

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are curable with antibiotics, yet most cases go undiagnosed and untreated — which can lead to severe adverse health effects including increasing the risk of contracting HIV. "Chlamydia remained the most common sexually transmitted disease, with more than 1.7 million reported cases. But health officials are concerned that gonorrhea cases increased a startling 67 percent between 2013 and 2017, and syphilis climbed even faster — 76 percent over those four years."

All can be prevented by condom use. 

The theme of this year's conference was “Intersecting Epidemics, Integrated Solutions.” While no specific cause was determined there was a direct correlation made to cuts in sex education nationwide. 

Dr Kristen Ries in an op-ed in USA Today said,  "Education is the most important thing and, unfortunately, we have backtracked. My hope is that is we're able to educate a new generation on the history of this disease and inspire them to get involved in helping prevent the disease altogether."

Ries, the main subject of the Logo original documentary Quiet Heroes, is a retired infectious disease expert who was a leader in the recognition and treatment of HIV in Utah during the height of the epidemic.