The US hasn't seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950. Other STD rates are down or flat
This 1966 microscope photo made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a tissue sample with the presence of numerous, corkscrew-shaped, darkly-stained, Treponema pallidum spirochetes, the bacterium responsible for causing syphilis. The U.S. syphilis epidemic continues to worsen, according to a new government report released Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, that also contains some unexpected good news — the rate of new gonorrhea cases has fallen for the first time in a decade. (Skip Van Orden/CDC via AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. syphilis epidemic isn't abating, with the rate of infectious cases rising 9% in 2022, according to a new federal government report on sexually transmitted diseases in adults.
But there's some unexpected good news: The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade.
It's not clear why syphilis rose 9% while gonorrhea dropped 9%, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, adding that it's too soon to know whether a new downward trend is emerging for the latter.
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