The CDC has unveiled new research on the prevalence of STI cases, and it suggests the epidemic may be slowing at long last. Despite an overall increase in new STI cases, the CDC has found that the rate of some STIs has significantly decreased for the first time since records began on gay and bisexual men’s health.
According to the CDC’s Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance report, over 2.4 million STIs were reported in the US in 2023. But even as the CDC maintains that “reportable STIs remain unacceptably high and disparities persist,” there are promising signs that infection rates are dropping. For context, reported cases of STIs like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis have trended up 90% since 2004.
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Now in what the CDC calls “the first substantial decline in more than two decades,” primary and secondary syphilis decreased by 10% among the general population and 13% among gay and bisexual men. This represents the first decline in reported cases since the CDC started keeping records on STIs affecting gay and bisexual men in the mid-2000s.
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While syphilis cases overall increased by 1%, this came after years of double-digit percent increases. Additionally, gonorrhea decreased for the second year in a row, this time by 7%, which puts infection rates below pre-pandemic levels.
“I see a glimmer of hope amidst millions of STIs,” said Jonathan Mermin, Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, in a statement. “After nearly two decades of STI increases, the tide is turning. We must make the most of this moment—let’s further this momentum with creative innovation and further investment in STI prevention.”
The CDC attributed these record declines to innovations in prevention efforts. In particular was the development of doxy pep, a pill that can prevent some bacterial STIs when taken 72 hours after a sexual encounter. The FDA also approved at-home tests to detect STIs early and prevent the spread to new partners.
At the same time, the CDC pointed out that there are still disparities in communities affected by STIs and much more work to be done to close those gaps. “While the STI epidemic touches nearly every community, some geographic areas and populations are affected more severely,” the CDC explained, “including American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino people, as well as gay and bisexual men.
“These health equity differences are due in part to deeply entrenched factors that create obstacles to quality health services, such as poverty, lack of health insurance, less access to health care, and stigma.”
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