The 10 States With the Highest STD Rates
With the U.S. in the midst of a syphilis ‘epidemic,’ these states have seen the highest combined rates of three major sexually transmitted infections.
The State of STDs
The U.S. again saw more than 2.5 million cases of key sexually transmitted infections in 2022, fueled by a continual and alarming increase in syphilis cases, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The combined rate of infections from chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2022 was 751.6 cases per 100,000 people, marking a 1.5% decrease from 2021, according to a U.S. News analysis of the data. Yet the rate of total syphilis cases across U.S. states and the District of Columbia – including all stages of the infection and congenital syphilis – rose by 17%, CDC figures show, with the total number of cases increasing 80% compared with 2018.
Between 2021 and 2022, the rate of chlamydia cases held largely steady, and the rate of gonorrhea infections fell 9.2%. A drop in total gonorrhea cases was the first in at least a decade, according to a statement from Dr. Laura Bachmann, acting director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. But Bachmann said officials would examine whether it marked “a true decline in infections” or was tied to changes in diagnoses and reporting.
The continued growth in syphilis cases is of particular concern, especially in light of potential funding cuts that could hamper efforts to curb sexually transmitted diseases: The country’s 207,255 cases marked its highest total since 1950, according to the CDC, while the rate of primary and secondary syphilis cases – when the disease is particularly contagious – rose by 9% from 2021 to 2022.
Meanwhile, cases of congenital syphilis – which occurs when a mother passes a syphilis infection to her baby while pregnant and can result in the infant’s death – surged by more than 30% year over year to 3,755, and the rate of 102.5 cases per 100,000 live births is the highest reported since 1991. There were 282 stillbirths and infant deaths related to congenital syphilis in 2022, and five states – Texas, California, Arizona, Florida and Louisiana – accounted for nearly 60% of congenital syphilis cases that year.
“The U.S. syphilis epidemic worsened yet another year, and swift action is urgently needed to slow the curve,” Bachmann said.
See below for the full list of the 10 states with the worst STD rates.
1. Mississippi
2. Louisiana
3. South Dakota
4. Alaska
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Alabama
8. North Carolina
9. Arkansas
10. Arizona
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-n...-rates?onepage