The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia cases remained below prepandemic levels, according to federal data released Tuesday.
The numbers represented some good news about sexually transmitted diseases, which experienced some alarming increases in past years due to declining condom use , inadequate sex education , and reduced testing and treatment when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Last year, cases of the most infectious stages of syphilis fell 10 from the year before - the first substantial decline in more than two decades. Gonorrhea cases dropped 7, marking a second straight year of decline and bringing the number below what it was in 2019.
"I'm encouraged, and it's been a long time since I felt that way" about the nation's epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, said the CDC's Dr. Jonathan Mermin. "Something is working."
More than 2.4 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were diagnosed and reported last year - 1.6 million cases of chlamydia, 600,000 of gonorrhea, and more than 209,000 of syphilis.
