STD Rates in US Hit All-Time High of 2.3 Million Cases

For the fourth consecutive year in a row, new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have reached a record high. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported roughly 2.3 million cases of the three sexually transmitted diseases at the National STD. Prevention Conference.

This number beats last year's record by over 200,000 cases. While astoundingly high, the number is likely to be an underestimate of total cases in the United States.

"Most people with these STDs do not know they are infected," said Dr. Gail Bolan, director of the CDC's division of sexually transmitted disease prevention. "They don't realize that these diseases are spreading silently through the country."

Researchers also reported seeing more cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea this past year, and worry that if infections mutate more rapidly, scientists will not be able to develop new antibiotics. The only antibiotic available in the US, ceftriaxone, is highly effective in treating gonorrhea.

While causation does not equal correlation, it is necessary to note that Truvada became approved as a form of PrEP in July of 2012. 2013 was the first year we saw an increase in STDs, and each year since then, we've seen a higher prevalence of STDs in the United States, potentially due to the increased number of individuals using PrEP without using condoms.