CDC: Three STDs At An All-Time High In U.S., by Paul Bois

In a report published on Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed cases of  gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis at an all-time high across the United States.

“For the fifth consecutive year, combined cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis have risen in the United States, according to a Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published on Tuesday,” reports CNN. “A rise in the prevalence and incidence of STDs can come with serious public health consequences and concerns, including infertility, drug-resistant gonorrhea and congenital syphilis, which can cause infant death.”

CDC epidemiologist Elizabeth Torrone, who helped author the report, said the combined total of 2.4 million diagnosed infections makes it “the most cases” recorded since the United States began monitoring.

“STDs cause a significant burden to the health care system — both in terms of direct medical costs for treating STDs as well as the personal cost for people who have an STD,” Torrone said. “As the STD epidemic continues to grow in the United States, the direct medical costs and the quality of life lost will just increase as well.” ….