Well this fucking sucks — literally. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control, reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases in America are at an “unprecedented high.”
The CDC’s annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance report, found that, in 2015, the number of combined reported cases for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis was higher than it’s ever been before. Those three diseases are already the most commonly reported STDs in the United States, and all of them have increased in, uh, popularity since the previous year.
“We have reached a decisive moment for the nation, the CDC’s Dr. Jonathan Mermin said in a statement. “STD rates are rising, and many of the country’s systems for preventing STDs have eroded. We must mobilize, rebuild, and expand services — or the human and economic burden will continue to grow.”
The report documented more than 1.5 million cases of chlamydia, almost 400,000 cases of gonorrhea, and nearly 24,000 cases of the most infectious stage of syphilis — primary and secondary syphilis. The number of P&S syphilis cases, as the disease is known, jumped 19 percent from 2014 to 2015. Gonorrhea cases saw an increase of 12.8 percent and chlamydia brought up the rear with a 5.9 percent jump.
The youth of America are apparently getting laid and not using protection, because people ages 15 to 24 made up almost two-thirds of all chlamydia diagnoses and half of all gonorrhea diagnoses. Gay and bisexual men faced the greatest risk of contracting an STD, according to the CDC’s research.
Did y'all think 'Mean Girls' was a joke?
All three STDs are curable with antibiotics, but the CDC says that “more than half of state and local STD programs have experienced budget cuts,” and at least 20 clinics were forced to shut down.
“STD prevention resources across the nation are stretched thin, and we’re beginning to see people slip through the public health safety net, said Dr. Mermin.
Basically, you should probably take precautions before having sex rather than just relying on being lucky while getting lucky.
Gonorrhea.
