US’s STD epidemic worsened again in 2023

Rates of STDs continue to rise in the United States, with CDC data showing increases year after year.

We compiled a list of stories highlighting the epidemic and strides being made in STD care.

STD epidemic continues to worsen, CDC says

Final surveillance data released by the CDC confirmed that reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis increased between 2020 and 2021 in the United States, totaling more than 2.5 million. Read more.

Q&A: Pan-resistant gonorrhea ‘may be inevitable’ without changes

Massachusetts health officials detected a novel strain of gonorrhea with reduced susceptibility or resistance to five antibiotic classes — the first of its kind in the U.S. Read more.

VIDEO: Gonorrhea vaccine trial nears full enrollment

There are currently no licensed vaccines for the three nationally reportable STIs but that could change depending on the results of a large randomized controlled trial assessing the ability of the meningococcal B vaccine Bexsero (GSK) to offer cross-protection against gonorrhea. Watch video.

Doxycycline continues to show promise for STI prevention, but not in cisgender women

Studies continue to show that taking doxycycline after having unprotected sex can prevent STIs in transgender women and men who have sex with men. Researchers at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections presented the first major evidence that it may not be as effective for cisgender women. Read more.

VIDEO: What to know about CDC’s draft guidance on doxy-PEP

The CDC announced that it had developed draft guidelines on doxycycline as post-exposure prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, or what is being called doxy-PEP. Annie Luetkemeyer, MD, discussed the CDC’s pending recommendations at IDWeek 2023. Watch video.

‘Crisis’: Congenital syphilis increasing at ‘heartbreaking rate’

Cases of congenital syphilis increased more than 10-fold between 2012 and 2022, the CDC reported in another warning about the worsening epidemic of sexually transmitted infections in the U.S. Read more.

Q&A: STD leaders call for US to declare emergency over congenital syphilis

STD leaders called on the Biden administration to declare a public health emergency over congenital syphilis and dedicate $1 billion to addressing sexually transmitted infections in the U.S. Read more.

Women lose more quality-adjusted life-years than men because of STDs

Estimates of lifetime quality-adjusted life-years lost due to gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis were substantially higher among women than among men, according to recently published data from 2018. Read more.

Vaginal swabs preferred over urine samples for chlamydia, gonorrhea testing

Evidence from nearly 30 studies support vaginal swabs as the optimal specimen for chlamydia and gonorrhea testing rather than urine samples, with the latter representing a “disservice” with long-term consequences. Read more.

Intensively screening people at low risk for N. gonorrhoeae has little impact on transmission

A network-based model demonstrated that men who have sex with men drive the Neisseria gonorrhoeae epidemic and that intensive screening in the low-risk population had little impact on lowering transmission rates. Read more.

More than two-thirds of people diagnosed with mpox had prior STIs

Approximately 70% of people with mpox included in a recent study had prior chlamydia and/or gonorrhea infections. Read more.

Hospital intervention increased STI testing among at-risk adolescents

In 14 months, a hospital increased its STI testing rate among high-risk patients from 12% to 59% through interventions that included creating preselected orders in the electronic medical record. Read more.