The report, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), also found “the odds of sexually transmitted infections varied by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and substance use.”
Syphilis among newborns (i.e., congenital syphilis) also increased, with reported cases up nearly 15% from 2019, and 235% from 2016. Early data indicate primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis cases continued to increase in 2021 as well.
As a result, the CDC is recommending that anyone who is sexually active get a full screening for STIs. To find local testing clinics near you, go to https://gettested.cdc.gov/. Most clinics are free.
Syphilis bottomed out in the U.S. in the late 1990s, with the CDC hoping to fully eradicate the disease. Only years later, syphilis rates would start rising; by 2021, more than 52,000 cases were reported.
Many factors could be at play, but officials believe the COVID pandemic is mostly at fault. Testing and treatment took a backseat during the worst days of the crisis in 2020, while many people now feel sexually unshackled with COVID vaccines available, lockdowns over, and mask mandates lifted. Some health officials are calling for public messaging about condoms. Monkeypox, which exploded this year and last, is also complicating efforts and eating up health funding from the government.
The CDC’s Leandro Mena, who made the announcement about STDs at a Monday speech, is calling for swift action. One of his ideas is widely available home-test kits for STDs, akin to the COVID tests common today. Mena also called for battling stigma — ostensibly through public relations, marketing, or public service announcements — and increased testing and treatment.
Reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States decreased during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but most resurged by the end of that year. Ultimately, reported cases of gonorrhea, syphilis, and congenital syphilis surpassed 2019 levels, while chlamydia declined, according to new data published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data provide the clearest picture yet of COVID-19’s impact on the U.S. STD epidemic.
The newly released 2020 STD Surveillance Report found that at the end of 2020:
Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary & secondary (P&S) syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019.
Syphilis among newborns (i.e., congenital syphilis) also increased, with reported cases up nearly 15% from 2019, and 235% from 2016. Early data indicate primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis cases continued to increase in 2021 as well.
Reported cases of chlamydia declined 13% from 2019.
Chlamydia historically accounts for the largest proportion of reported STDs in the United States. The decline in reported chlamydia cases is likely due to decreased STD screening and underdiagnosis during the pandemic, rather than a reduction in new infections. This also contributed to an overall decrease in the number of reported STDs in 2020 (from 2.5 million reported cases in 2019 to 2.4 million in 2020).
Rates of many sexually transmitted infections continued to climb during the first year of the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement posted to its website on Tuesday. While overall there were 2.4 million infections recorded in 2020, down from a record high of 2.6 million in 2019, diagnosed cases of certain sexually transmitted diseases surged.
Cases of congenital syphilis, which occurs in newborns who contract the disease from their mothers, reached the highest numbers in 26 years, rising by 235 percent since 2016. Rates of primary and secondary syphilis rose by 7 percent from 2019 to 2020; gonorrhea cases rose by 10 percent in the same time period.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently reported that during 2021, the state (outside of Philadelphia) experienced a 28% increase in early syphilis—going from 1,105 cases reported in 2020 to 1,418 cases reported in 2021. The latest numbers are the highest infection rates of early syphilis cases in more than 30 years.
Of the early syphilis cases reported in women, 90% were of child-bearing age—which presents a unique danger of congenital syphilis, where the infection can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy.
As a result, health officials are strongly encouraging all sexually active men and women to get tested.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be spread through vaginal, oral or anal sex. Syphilis can also be spread during pregnancy to the unborn child, and by sharing intravenous needles. Syphilis is easily cured if caught in the early stages of infection but, because symptoms can be mild, it’s possible to have it and not know. Testing is the only way to verify infection.
Ask your doctor about getting tested for syphilis. If you don’t have a doctor or prefer a nearby confidential clinic, enter your zip code at https://gettested.cdc.gov/ (to refine your search, select “syphilis testing” under “filter results”). Most testing clinics are free.
Erie County Department of Health is reporting a record-breaking increase in new Syphilis infections in the county — 41 cases in 2021. That’s an increase of 310% from the previous year. Most new infections were among people under the age of 30. Men accounted for 78% of the new infections and 22% were women. As a result, health officials are strongly encouraging all sexually active county residents to get tested.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can be spread through vaginal, oral or anal sex. Syphilis can also be spread during pregnancy to the unborn child, and by sharing intravenous needles. Syphilis is easily cured if caught in the early stages of infection but, because symptoms can be mild, it’s possible to have it and not know. Testing is the only way to verify infection.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for research on effective strategies for expanding the provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at increased risk of HIV by leveraging existing sexually transmitted infection (STI) programs.
Research supported by this initiative should be based on point of care HIV testing for all persons seeking STI services, followed by linkage to available antiretroviral therapy (ART) or PrEP, in addition to STI testing, treatment, and prevention services at designated STI clinical settings. HIV testing, PrEP, and ART should be linked with STI services in settings where they are needed and not currently co-located. Interventions should be included to (i) overcome stigma and discrimination, (ii) provide individualized services to optimize PrEP and ART uptake and retention, (iii) ensure ongoing access to ART, PrEP, and other prevention services, (iv) and provide quality STI services that meet current CDC recommendations (Recommendations for Providing Quality STD Clinical Services).
Having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) can increase the chances of getting or transmitting HIV, because having an STI may make HIV transmission easier. Additionally, the same behaviors and circumstances that place people at risk for STIs also can place them at risk for HIV.
STD clinics are important healthcare settings for people who may not otherwise have access to healthcare services, including those who are uninsured or seek confidential services. They serve people who are not engaged in HIV prevention programs or the primary healthcare system for STD and HIV prevention and care.3 For example, in 2018, an analysis of CDC-funded HIV tests found STD clinics provided more than one-third of all HIV tests conducted among healthcare settings and identified approximately 20% of all people newly diagnosed with HIV in these settings.
This reflection piece details the many challenges and opportunities COVID-19 has brought to the HIV/STD prevention field, particularly in the southern United States, and showcases the innovative approaches sexual health providers implemented to further prevent service disruption.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, this document looks at what the sexual health workforce has been through, and continue to go through, navigating ending an HIV epidemic while in a global pandemic.
