Of the nearly 68 million people with an STD in 2018, 26 million were newly diagnosed.
More key study findings:
- Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 accounted for nearly half of all new STIs in 2018.
- An estimated $16 billion in lifetime medical costs from STDs were acquired in 2018, most of which were attributed to sexually acquired HIV infections.
- Overall, women carried a disproportionate burden of severe STD outcomes and medical costs.
“At a time when [sexually transmitted infections] are at an all-time high, they have fallen out of the national conversation,” said Jonathan Mermin, MD, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB prevention. “There is an urgent need to reverse the trend of STIs, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected many STI prevention services.”
The report suggests the same strategies being used to address the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as express clinics with walk-in testing and partnerships with pharmacies and retail health clinics, could expand access to sexual healthcare.
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