New CDC Data Finds Concerning Trend in U.S. Syphilis Infections

Over the past decade, syphilis infections in the U.S. have continued to rise with seemingly no end in sight. New data from the government released Jan. 30 illuminates where the trend is currently heading, as well as other eyebrow-raising numbers regarding other sexually transmitted infections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infectious cases of syphilis rose 9 percent in 2022. Interestingly, the rate of new gonorrhea cases fell by the same amount, marking the first time in a decade that gonorrhea infections have gone down. It remains unclear why gonorrhea rates fell 9 percent as syphilis rose 9 percent, and the CDC noted that it's too soon to tell if gonorrhea is trending downward overall.

Laura Bachmann, the acting director of the CDC's STD division, addressed the latest numbers in a statement. "The STI field has reached a tipping point," she stated plainly. "We have long known that these infections are common, but we have not faced such severe effects of syphilis in decades." Bachmann pointed out that "recent public health emergencies diverted program resources and threatened the health of those already disproportionately affected by STIs," urging public health officials that they "must move now to pick up the pieces."

Related: STD Numbers Are Rising at an Insane Rate in the U.S.

Syphilis infections in the U.S. fell drastically starting in the 1940s when antibiotics became widely available, ultimately bottoming out at the turn of the millennium. There were 207,000 new cases of syphilis in the U.S. in 2022, the highest count of the disease since 1950.

It seems like safer sex practices are becoming increasingly important now more than ever.