Published on
New provisional data shows 2024 was the third consecutive year of declines in the combined total number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The overall trend shows a 9% decline from the previous year’s case numbers. Even with that positive news, there were still more than 2.2 million reported sexually transmitted infections in 2024, and overall cases are 13% higher than a decade ago. Most concerning is that congenital syphilis increased for the 12th year in a row—nearly 700% higher than 10 years ago.
Good news: In 2024, gonorrhea cases showed the most improvement as they were down 10.1% in women and 9.7% in men with the 5-year percentage decline of 31.6% in women and 11.4% in men. Chlamydia cases were down 8.6% in women and 7.5% in men in 2024. Although chlamydia cases in men showed an increase over 5 years (+2.9%), cases in women dropped 8.1% over 5 years. As new at-home tests reach more communities, the opportunities for early treatment to halt the spread of these conditions may increase. Learn more about testing in urgent care from the JUCM archive: The Urgent Need for STI Testing in Urgent Care Centers