Oct 19, 2016:
According to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) press release entitled "2015 STD Surveillance Report Press Release", the number of reported cases of STD's (sexually transmitted diseases) in the United States in 2015 set a record high. The cases include the three most commonly reported types of STD's - chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
According to the press release:
- Reported syphilis cases increased by 19 percent from 2014 to 2015.
- Reported gonorrhea cases increased by 12.8 percent from 2014 to 2015.
- Reported chlamydia cases increased by 5.9 percent from 2014 to 2015.
- Americans ages 15 to 24 years old accounted for nearly two-thirds of chlamydia diagnoses and half of gonorrhea diagnoses.
- Men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for the majority of new gonorrhea and P&S syphilis cases (82 percent of male cases with known gender of sex partner). Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea may be higher among MSM.
- Women's rate of syphilis diagnosis increased by more than 27 percent from 2014 to 2015. Reported congenital syphilis (which occurs when the infection is transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby) increased by 6 percent. Women still account for less than 10 percent of new P&S syphilis infections.
Worldwide, in recent years new strains of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis STI's (sexually transmitted infections) are showing more resistance to traditional antibiotic treatments. Gonorrhea has developed the most resistance of the three major STI's, and strains of gonorrhea that do not respond to multi-drug treatments have already been detected.
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