A new report showcases the latest federal data on cases of sexually transmitted infections, suggesting that the United States is amidst a syphilis epidemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published its annual surveillance report on sexually transmitted infections (STI), revealing that more than 2.5 million cases were reported in 2022. Alarming and even record-breaking numbers of syphilis and congenital syphilis (CS) were logged, seeing a year-over-year rise of 17.0% and 30.6%, respectively.
“The STI field has reached a tipping point. We have long known that these infections are common, but we have not faced such severe effects of syphilis in decades,” said Laura Bachmann, acting director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, in the report.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the CDC logged a 32% increase in CS cases in 2021, with Texas seeing some of the highest numbers of all. CS occurs when a mother passes syphilis, which is a bacterial infection, to her unborn child and is not treated at least 30 days before delivery.
CS can increase the chances of a miscarriage or stillbirth. Newborns with CS might present with anemia, bone damage, an enlarged liver and spleen, and nerve problems causing blindness or deafness.
The Lone Star State also figured high in the CS cases seen in 2022, comprising 57% of all reports together with California, Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana.
According to Bachmann, the resurgence of syphilis after it almost disappeared in 2000 thanks to the wide availability of antibiotics is due to taxpayer dollars being diverted from public health programs.
However, a decline in gonorrhea of 8.7% was also recorded in 2022, surprising some experts.
“We are encouraged by the magnitude of the decline,” explained the CDC’s Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who noted that gonorrhea infections were still above pre-pandemic levels, according to the Associated Press. “We need to examine what happened, and whether it’s going to continue to happen.”
Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection characterized by urethral discharge in men and vaginal discharge in women, yet in most cases it is asymptomatic. Meanwhile, syphilis usually manifests itself as round, painless sores on the genitals or mouth.
