STD Quarterly: Signs of progress seen on STI prevention front
Signs of progress seen on STI prevention front
Despite the continued high burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, an analysis of 2009 national data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows some signs of progress on the prevention front:
- The national gonorrhea rate is at the lowest level ever recorded. In 2009, a total of 301,174 cases of gonorrhea were reported in the United States, which corresponds to a rate of 99.1 cases per 100,000 population. The 2009 rate is a 10.5% decrease from the rate of 110.7 cases per 100,000 population in 2008.
- In 2009, a total of 1,244,180 cases of sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis infection were reported to the CDC, the largest number of cases ever reported to CDC for any condition. While increases in chlamydia diagnoses continue in the United States, this trend likely reflects expanded screening efforts, rather than a true increase in disease burden, the analysis states
- For the first time in five years, reported syphilis cases did not increase among women overall, the CDC reports. Likewise, cases of congenital syphilis did not increase for the first time in four years.1
Data in the report are based on state and local STI case reports from a variety of private and public sources, most of which come from non-STI clinic settings, such as private physicians and health maintenance organizations.
Vigilance is needed
STIs remain a major public health challenge in the United States, states the new report. The CDC estimates there are about 19 million new STI infections each year, which cost the U.S. healthcare system $16.4 billion annually and cost individuals even more in terms of acute and long-term health consequences.
Undetected and untreated STIs can increase a person's risk for HIV and cause other serious health consequences, such as infertility. STI screening can help detect disease early and, when combined with treatment, is one of the most effective tools available to protect one's health and prevent the spread of STIs to others, the report notes.
Untreated gonorrhea and chlamydia in women can result in pelvic inflammatory disease, a condition that can cause infertility. Each year, STIs cause at least 24,000 women in the United States to become infertile, the CDC states. Untreated syphilis can lead to serious long-term complications, including brain, cardiovascular, and organ damage. Syphilis in pregnant women also can result in congenital syphilis, which can cause stillbirth, death soon after birth, and physical deformity and neurological complications in children who survive. Untreated syphilis in pregnant women results in infant death in up to 40% of cases.
Research findings suggest that people with gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis are at increased risk for HIV. This increase is especially concerning for young black men, among whom the rate of syphilis is increasing, the CDC notes.
Syphilis rates increased among black men ages 15-19 from 10.6 per 100,000 population in 2005 to 28.3 per 100,000 population in 2009. A similar rise was seen in black men ages 20–24, jumping from 30.2 per 100,000 population in 2005 to 94.2 per 100,000 population in 2009. These increases are the largest observed in any age, sex, or racial/ethnic group, reports the CDC.1
Reference
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2009. Atlanta: Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
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