Chlamydia cases had dipped in 2013, but last year’s total of more than 1.4 million – or 456 cases per 100,000 – was the highest number of annual cases of any condition ever reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The CDC also warned that the findings are most likely underestimating how much STDs affect people since many cases often go unreported or undiagnosed. But that’s not the only STD that increased in prevalence; according to the report, rates of gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis – also known as or P&S – have also escalated. Just under 20,000 cases of syphilis have been reported previous year, a 15 percent increase from 2013.
The effects of sexually transmitted diseases are very severe for young people. The agency noted women and young people are the groups that are infected by STD’s at the highest rates. “A few of the increases are quite alarming”.
Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention added in a statement, “America’s worsening STD epidemic is a clear call for better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention”. There are other smaller counties that have higher rates per capita.
While the study suggests-as mentioned above-that men may be the driving force, the study says that “Young people are the most vulnerable”, according to Bolan. “Each of these infections is a potential threat to an individual’s immediate and long-term health and well-being”.
Syphilis can cause serious health issues including blindness, while chlamydia can permanently damage a woman’s reproductive organs.
Most gonorrhea and chlamydia infections were in 15- to 24-year-olds, an ongoing trend.
It has been of particular concern in California, where cases of congenital syphilis – in which a mother infects her child during pregnancy – surged between 2012 and 2014, with cases increasing from 30 to 100. As for gonorrhea, another common STD, the spike was calculated at 5.1 percent compared to 2013, representative for 350,000 cases registered nationwide.
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Health officials recommend using condoms during sex to prevent the spread of these diseases.
