Gonorrhea and syphilis increased, while chlamydia cases decreased.
Medical test for HIV, hepatitis B, C and syphilis. Photo: Shutterstock.
Reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States decreased during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but most reported STDs increased again toward the end of the year.
Ultimately, the cases gonorrheaReported syphilis and congenital syphilis exceeded 2019 levels, while chlamydia cases declined, according to new data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data provides the clearest picture yet of the impact of COVID-19 on the STD epidemic in the US.
The recently released 2020 STD Surveillance Report found that at the end of 2020:
Cases of gonorrhea and reported primary and secondary syphilis had increased by 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019.
syphilis among newborns (ie, congenital syphilis) also increased; reported cases increased by almost 15% from 2019 and 235% from 2016. Initial data indicates that cases of primary and secondary syphilis, and congenital syphilis, also continued to increase in 2021.
Historically, chlamydia accounts for the largest proportion of reported STDs in the United States. The decrease in the number of reported chlamydia cases is likely due to less screening and underdiagnosis during the pandemic, rather than a reduction in new infections. This also contributed to an overall decrease in the numbers of reported STD cases in 2020 (from 2.5 million reported cases in 2019 to 2.4 million in 2020).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has put enormous pressure on an already overstretched public health infrastructure,” said Jonathan Mermin, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention. . “There were times in 2020 when it seemed like the world had stopped, but STDs didn’t stop. The relentless momentum of the STD epidemic continued while STD prevention services were disrupted,” he explained.
Several factors likely contributed to the initial decline in reported STD cases in the early part of 2020, including:
*reduced in-person health care services, due to fewer routine visits, leading to less frequent STD testing;
*redeployment of public health staff from STD-related work to COVID-19 pandemic response activitiespdf icon;
*shortage of STD testing and laboratory supplies; interruptions in health insurance coverage due to unemployment, and
*telemedicine practices that resulted in some infections not being captured in national data.
While STDs are on the rise in many groups, 2020 STD data shows that some racial/ethnic minority groups, gay and bisexual men, and young people in our country continue to have higher rates of STDs. This trend shows that longstanding factors such as lack of access to regular health care, discrimination, and stigma continue to stand in the way of quality sexual health care for all who need it.
“The COVID-19 pandemic raised awareness of a reality we’ve known about STDs for a long time. Social and economic factors, like poverty and not having health insurance, create barriers, increase health risks and often translate to worse health outcomes for some people,” said Leandro Mena, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention. “If we want to make lasting progress against STDs in this country, we need to understand the systems that create inequities and we need to work with partners to change those systems. No one can be excluded,” he added.
Much remains to be done to restore, renew, and expand STD prevention and control in the United States, and this will require many groups working together, such as health care systems, medical centers, and local community organizations; the public and private sectors; health care providers and health workers.
Efforts must be prioritized and focused to make up lost ground against STDs. The National Strategic Plan for Sexually Transmitted Infectionsexternal icon vision of the United States as a place where STDs are prevented and where every person has access to high-quality STD prevention, care, and treatment free from stigma and discrimination, can be a reality with the help of collaborators and the determination of many people.
consulted source here.