New government data released Wednesday has a scary revelation: STD rates are breaking records. There were more reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. last year than ever before. The news is courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also revealed that rates of the three most commonly reported STDs—chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis—increased for the second year in a row.
According to the data, rates of syphilis increased nearly 20 percent from 2014 to 2015, gonorrhea cases increased 13 percent, and chlamydia cases increased 6 percent.
That amounts to more than 1.5 million new cases of chlamydia, nearly 400,000 new cases of gonorrhea, and nearly 24,000 new cases of primary and secondary syphilis, which the CDC points out are the most infectious stages of the disease. The actual number of cases may be even higher, the CDC says, since most STD cases go undiagnosed and untreated, “putting individuals at risk for severe and often irreversible health consequences, including infertility, chronic pain, and increased risk for HIV.”
Young people were disproportionally affected—Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 years old had nearly two-thirds of new chlamydia cases and half of gonorrhea diagnoses—and gay and bisexual men accounted for the majority of new syphilis cases. However, women’s syphilis diagnoses increased by more than 27 percent.
“We have reached a decisive moment for the nation,” Jonathan Mermin, M.D., director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said in a statement. “STD rates are rising, and many of the country’s systems for preventing STDs have eroded. We must mobilize, rebuild, and expand services—or the human and economic burden will continue to grow.”
Women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D., tells SELF that serious budget cuts to state and local programs that diagnose and treat STDs are partially to blame for this news. Board-certified infectious disease specialist Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, agrees. “Traditionally, a lot of sexually transmitted diseases were diagnosed and treated in public health clinics, and we have seen those types of services be scaled back,” he tells SELF. “That’s difficult because many people don’t like to go to their primary care physician for STDs because of the stigma.” Plus, primary care physicians typically don’t do the appropriate screenings as much as clinics that specialize in infectious diseases or STDs, Adalja says, increasing the odds that someone will have an undetected STD that they can then spread to others.
Technology may be at play, too. “Some health officials believe that dating apps like Tinder have contributed to the rise of STDs in vulnerable populations,” Wider says. Some electronic dating apps have been linked to the spread of STDs because they make it much easier to find multiple sexual partners, and quickly, Adalja explains.
And finally, people are less afraid of STDs—specifically HIV—than they used to be. “A lot of people used to have safer sex because of the fear of contracting HIV,” Adalja says. As a result of practicing safe sex due to HIV fears, people were less likely to contract and spread other STDs. “Now, the stigma of HIV is much less, people realize it’s a treatable disease, and they’re less scared,” he says.
While chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are treatable with antibiotics, the rise in STD rates is concerning because many of these STDs are asymptomatic, meaning they don't show signs and symptoms in people who have them. “Without testing, many people pass them on unknowingly and can suffer from the long-term effects of these diseases without treatment,” Wider says.
Experts say the solution is often as simple as practicing safe sex. “The frustrating thing about STD increases is that they’re largely avoidable through preventative measures,” says Adalja. “Just using condoms can prevent the spread of a lot of these infections.” It’s also important to get tested and make sure your partner has been tested, too. “In most cases, these bacterial STDs are treatable with an antibiotic,” Wider says. “They just need to be properly diagnosed in a timely fashion.”
Related:
- How To Tell Someone You Have Herpes
- Yes, A Lot Of People Have HPV—And, Yes, You Still Need To Tell Your Partners If You Do
- The Most Common STD You’ve Never Heard Of
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