Policy Statement, Press Release
U.S. STI Rates Hit Another High
CDC Data Highlights Need for Federal Funds to Curb Rapidly Growing STI Crisis
U.S. STI Rates Hit Another High
CDC Data Highlights Need for Federal Funds to Curb Rapidly Growing STI Crisis
Immediate Release: April 11, 2023
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, efinley@ncsddc.org, 919-749-7309
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its 2021 STD Surveillance Data showing that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have reached a new record high for an eighth year in a row. The data show a 74% increase in syphilis over five years, as well as 2,800 congenital syphilis cases in 2021, including 220 that resulted in infant deaths. The data also show chlamydia rates that have risen up to pre-pandemic levels after cases went undetected during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) executive director David C. Harvey released the following urgent statement in response to the newly released data:
“The latest CDC data shows record high STI rates in America for the eighth straight year. This is not business as usual – it is a rapidly deteriorating public health crisis in a dangerous time. STI rates will continue to rise unless we take drastic action.”
“For years, we have sounded alarm bells about how the stretched public health system and lack of funding has hampered STI prevention, testing, and treatment. The need to fund prevention programs and clinical services is more acute than ever and it has been ignored for far too long. What’s worse, instead of seeing expanded prevention efforts, we see states and courts increasingly taking aim at preventive health services, sex education, and LGBTQ+ people – actions that fragment the nation’s health and undercut tools to protect communities.”
“We can only stop the growing epidemic of STIs in the U.S. with leadership and funding that are proportional to the magnitude of this crisis. Last year’s Mpox response proved that we can turn the tide on infectious disease outbreaks when the White House takes the lead on a coordinated federal, state, and local response. Ending the out-of-control STI epidemic is possible, too, but only if leadership treats it like the crisis it is.”
