STD rates in the U.S. hit a record high

Cases of sexually transmitted diseases hit record highs in 2017, according to preliminary data just released by the CDC. There were almost 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis diagnosed in the U.S. last year, up by more than 200,000 cases from 2016. The analysis also showed gonorrhea cases spiked 67 percent from 2013 to 2017, topping 550,000 cases last year. Health officials warned not only about the “steep and sustained” spread of the diseases but the growing resistance of some of the bugs to standard treatments.“We are sliding backward,” Dr. Jonathan Mermin, a top STD official at the CDC, said in a statement.