Number of STD cases hits record high in U.S.

The U.S. saw a record number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in 2017, marking the fourth straight year of increases in gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The trend is exacerbated by the fact that gonorrhea could soon become resistant to antibiotic treatment, the CDC said in a statement Tuesday.

Prevention efforts have also stagnated, and people are using condoms less frequently, said one expert. “We are sliding backward,” Jonathan Mermin, director of the agency’s national STD center, said in a statement.

Since 2013, syphilis cases have risen 76 percent to 30,644, while gonorrhea diagnoses have increased 67 percent to 555,608. Most STDs go undiagnosed and untreated, the CDC said, which can cause infertility, stillbirth and an increased risk of HIV. The diseases can be treated with antibiotics, but gonorrhea has become resistant to nearly every class of antibiotics except ceftriaxone.

David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, said the rise is due to a lack of screening and a decrease in condom use. He cited a lack of awareness that some methods used to prevent other sexually related conditions — such as IUDs and a pill to reduce the risk of HIV — don’t protect against common STDs.