Health experts are tracking a spike in the number of sexually transmitted diseases in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 115,000 cases of syphilis in the U.S. last year. That's almost a 15% increase from 2017.
When it comes to gonorrhea, more than 583,000 cases were confirmed in America. That's a 5% increase from the year before.
Finally, the total number of chlamydia cases rose 3% in 2018 to more than 1.7-million. The research found that nearly two-thirds of the chlamydia cases are in people aged 15 to 24.
According to a story in U.S. News & World Report, Syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia can have serious consequences if left unchecked, including infertility and death, but are treatable through antibiotics. Yet despite public health efforts to improve access to testing and treatment, the prevalence of such STDs has soared in recent years, representing "an underestimated opponent in the public health battle," according to the report.
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