From HIV.gov…
After several years of increases, the data suggest that the STI epidemic may be slowing. We still have much more work to do, but the 2023 data are promising in several aspects:
- Gonorrhea dropped for a second year—declining 7% from 2022 and falling below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
- Overall, syphilis increased by only 1% after years of double-digit increases.
- Primary and secondary syphilis cases, the most infectious stages of syphilis, went down 10%—the first substantial decline in more than two decades. These cases also dropped 13% among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex men for the first time since CDC began reporting national trends among this group in the mid-2000s.
- Increases in congenital syphilis cases appear to be slowing in some areas—with a 3% increase over 2022 nationally, compared to 30% annual increases in prior years.
These signs of hope hint at what’s possible when the nation prioritizes – and invests in – STI prevention. The data arrive on the heels of important innovations such as doxy PEP to prevent bacterial STIs and self-tests (or at-home tests); a nationally coordinated response to the U.S. syphilis epidemic spearheaded by the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Task Force; and the unprecedented – but temporary – infusion of funding into health department disease intervention specialist programs (PDF, 1.03MB).
Read more on HIV.gov. You can read a summary of the Srveillance Report here.