ATLANTA — In May, the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an increase in certain sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea, and syphilis, while infections of chlamydia were lower
Now, new data from the CDC shows signs of infection rates slowing down.
A new release from the agency on Tuesday showed that nationally the number of syphilis infections had increased with 209,253 cases of syphilis nationally and more than 8,300 in Georgia in 2023. In 2022, there were 7,361 in the Peach State.
Cases of gonorrhea in both Georgia and more broadly in the United States at large were down, with 601,319 cases nationally and 30,307 in Georgia in 2023 compared to 2022, when Georgia had 31,450.
Likewise, cases of chlamydia decreased nationally and in Georgia. In 2023, Georgia reported 71,294 cases compared to 2022′s 72,662 cases, while the U.S. overall had 1,648,568 cases in 2023, a drop from the 1,649,716 in 2022.
Based on the most recent CDC data, Georgia was ranked 3rd for gonorrhea, 5th for chlamydia and 14th for cases of syphilis, by number of reported cases.
“In 2023, over 2.4 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were diagnosed and reported. This includes over 209,000 cases of syphilis, over 600,000 cases of gonorrhea, and over 1.6 million cases of chlamydia,” the CDC said in a statement.
Nationally, sexually transmitted infections decreased 1.8% in 2023.
“I see a glimmer of hope amidst millions of STIs,” Jonathan Mermin, M.D., M.P.H., Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, said. “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.”
Broken down by the type of infection, the CDC said:
- decreases in gonorrhea (7.2% decrease),
- stable trends in chlamydia (<1.0% change), and
- an increase in total syphilis (all stages and congenital syphilis combined) (1.0% increase)
In addition to a national decrease in STIs overall, the CDC said there was a slowdown in the number of new cases of newborn syphilis, when a baby contracts the illness in the womb, were still higher than last year, but at a reduced level.
“Increases in newborn syphilis (known as congenital syphilis) cases appear to be slowing in some areas—with a 3% increase over 2022 nationally, compared to 30% annual increases in prior years,” the CDC said.