Syphilis cases have soared to their highest level in more than seven decades, according to disturbing new data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A staggering 207,000 syphilis cases were reported in the US in 2022 — an 80% increase since 2018.
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“The syphilis crisis in our country is unacceptable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared in a press release on Tuesday, sounding the alarm over the “critical” public health crisis.
According to the CDC data, more than 170,000 syphilis cases were reported back in 1951. The number dropped dramatically after the widespread availability of antibiotics. By 1998, annual case numbers had dropped below 40,000, before creeping up again over the past two decades.
“In the United States, syphilis was close to elimination in the 1990s, so we know it’s possible to reverse this epidemic,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, stated.
Dr. Nima Majlesi, Director of Medical Toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post there are two major reasons for the rise in cases.
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“People are using condoms less and less frequently,” he declared, saying that public health messages have “de-emphasized” the importance of safe sex in recent years.
Secondly, Dr. Majlesi says syphilis has become so uncommon in recent decades that it now often goes unrecognized, even by doctors, in its early stages.
“We are diagnosing it a little later, so by the time we do, [the patient] may have already spread it,” he explained.
nypost.com
A staggering 207,000 syphilis cases were reported in the US in 2022 — an 80% increase since 2018.
Advertisement
“The syphilis crisis in our country is unacceptable,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared in a press release on Tuesday, sounding the alarm over the “critical” public health crisis.
According to the CDC data, more than 170,000 syphilis cases were reported back in 1951. The number dropped dramatically after the widespread availability of antibiotics. By 1998, annual case numbers had dropped below 40,000, before creeping up again over the past two decades.
“In the United States, syphilis was close to elimination in the 1990s, so we know it’s possible to reverse this epidemic,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, stated.
Dr. Nima Majlesi, Director of Medical Toxicology at Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post there are two major reasons for the rise in cases.
Advertisement
“People are using condoms less and less frequently,” he declared, saying that public health messages have “de-emphasized” the importance of safe sex in recent years.
Secondly, Dr. Majlesi says syphilis has become so uncommon in recent decades that it now often goes unrecognized, even by doctors, in its early stages.
“We are diagnosing it a little later, so by the time we do, [the patient] may have already spread it,” he explained.
Syphilis cases soar to highest level in 70 years — CDC sounds alarm over ‘unacceptable’ crisis
A staggering 207,000 syphilis cases were reported in the US in 2022 — an 80% increase since 2018.
nypost.com
clean as a whistle, treating my body like a temple.
sometimes you gotta save yourself from the mess that’s going on.
