The first year of the covid-19 pandemic did not stop Americans from spreading sexually transmitted diseases. According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over two million cases of the most concerning STDs in 2020. There were record highs for both gonorrhea and syphilis. There were slightly fewer cases of chlamydia. The CDC tracks STD incidence based on cases that are required to be reported by local doctors and hospitals. The STD Awareness Week is in its third year and the 2020 numbers were released. The number of cases reported in 2020 is less than the number of cases reported in the previous year, which was the sixth consecutive year of all time highs. The number of reported cases of chlamydia declined from 1.8 million in the year of 2020 to 1.6 million in the year of 2019. The number of cases of gonorrhea rose from 616,392 in the year of the previous year to 663,759 in the year of the current year, and the number of cases of syphilis rose from 129,813 in the year of the previous year to 133, The decline in healthcare visits for STD screening during the early months of the Pandemic is being called into question by the CDC. Screening for STDs is important because people don't experience symptoms, so it's important to prevent the serious consequences that accompany them. STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia can cause infertility and even cause dementia if left unaddressed. STDs can be dangerous to carry while pregnant.
In the last few years, the incidence of congenital syphilis has gone up. The life-threatening disease syphilis can be passed between mother and child during delivery. There were at least 149 stillbirths and infant deaths in 2020. The CDC says that nearly half of the cases could have been caught early. The situation isn't looking better lately, with early data showing that syphilis cases continued to rise in 2021.
As the rate of antibiotic resistant infections continues to climb, gonorrhea is a looming disaster. Half of all infections in 2020 will be resistant to at least one antibiotic, according to the CDC. The CDC changed its treatment guidelines for gonorrhea in 2020 and recommended that simple cases be treated with a single shot of the antibiotic ceftriaxone.
Efforts to prevent, track, and treat these infections are likely to be complicated by the Pandemic. Before covid-19, the U.S. was losing ground against STDs. The CDC warns that it will take a lot to reduce these numbers.
We have known about STDs for a long time and the covid-19 pandemic increased awareness. The director of STD Prevention at the CDC said that poverty and health insurance status can result in worse health outcomes for some people. No one can be left behind.
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