New guidance, and signs the epidemic is slowing: The top STI stories of 2024
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Throughout 2024, data surrounding STDs came in waves of good and bad news, with data showing slower rates of infection and even disease elimination intermingling with news of hospitals failing to follow CDC guidance.
We compiled 12 stories that outline the constantly evolving fight to end STDs across many patient populations.
‘Tide is turning’: STI epidemic shows signs of slowing, CDC says
More than 2.4 million STIs were reported in the U.S. in 2023 — a 1.8% decrease from 2022 — with specific data showing rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia decreased, whereas overall syphilis rates increased by 1%. Read more.
Q&A: Barriers to STI self-testing among teens, young adults
Cost, discomfort with self-administration and privacy concerns are potential barriers to increasing the use of STI self-tests among adolescents and young adults. We spoke with Katie Foug, BS, and Jayelin Parker, MPH, about privacy concerns and interest in testing among teens and young adults. Read more.
CDC recommends clinicians counsel certain patients about doxy-PEP for STI prevention
Amid mounting evidence that it can prevent STIs, the CDC in June published long-awaited guidelines on the use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis — or doxy-PEP, as it is more commonly known. Read more.
Anal high-risk HPV common among transgender women
Among a cohort of 80 transgender women, 24% had received HPV immunization and 73% were positive for high-risk HPV, researchers found. Read more.
HPV vaccination programs may benefit certain at-risk adults
HPV vaccination programs for adults aged 27 to 45 years could benefit certain subgroups but are ultimately more costly and less effective than vaccinating those aged younger than 26 years. Read more.
Task force recommends screening all pregnant people for syphilis
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released a draft recommendation encouraging physicians to screen for syphilis in people who are pregnant as early as possible. This recommendation came after data showed cases of congenital syphilis increased 10 times from 2012 to 2022. Read more.
VIDEO: Universal screening for STIs in adolescents could avoid stigma
In this video, Jacob R. McLean, DO, recaps his presentation from the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium that discussed adolescents bearing a “disproportionate share” of the STI burden. He suggested that universally screening adolescents could help prevent missed opportunities for diagnosis and avoid the stigma of testing people based on sexual practices. Watch video.
Hospitals may not be following CDC guidance on STI screening, study shows
Less than 3% of patients tested for a bacterial STI in nearly a dozen EDs were also tested for HIV, demonstrating widespread nonadherence to a CDC recommendation. Read more.
Q&A: ED syphilis screening program doubles detection
An opt-out ED program flagging high-risk patients for optional syphilis testing more than doubled the number of infections the department detected and could allow for otherwise undetected asymptomatic cases to be identified. Read more.
STI testing low among gay, bisexual men in initial private health facility visit
Only about half of gay or bisexual men received the recommended STI testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis at their first visit. Of those with no documented HIV, PrEP use and initiation were low. Read more.
Q&A: ‘False sense of safety’ contributes to rise in STDs after menopause
Among U.S. women aged 55 years and older, gonorrhea cases rose from 443 to 2,684 and chlamydia cases rose from 2,155 to 5,852; and primary and secondary syphilis cases rose from 41 to 578, between 2010 and 2022. We spoke with James A. Simon, MD, CCD, MSCP, IF, FACOG, about these data and about the rise and prevention of STDs among late middle-aged women. Read more.
Three more countries eliminate congenital HIV, syphilis
Nineteen nations globally and 11 nations in the Americas have now eliminated congenital HIV and syphilis, with Belize, Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines being the most recent nations to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Read more.
New evidence ‘seals the case’ for doxy-PEP as STI prevention tool
Before the CDC issued guidance on doxy-PEP, researchers presented findings from three studies at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections that sealed the case for its use. Read more.
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