Syphilis cases reach highest rate since 1950, alarming new data shows
Newsy
Syphilis is rising across the U.S. in all demographics, but it's hitting some groups and locations particularly hard.
Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection once under control from spreading in the U.S., is now reaching case levels not seen in more than 70 years, according to a new federal government report.
More than 207,000 syphilis cases were reported in 2022, the most recent year of data. That marks a nearly 80% jump in diagnoses since 2018 and a 17% increase from the year prior, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data shows.
CDC
It's also the highest number of syphilis cases the U.S. has seen since 1950, when the use of penicillin to treat the rapidly spreading disease began expanding and led to a steep decline in infection rates.
But despite treatments helping rates hit historic lows in 2000 and 2001, primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis cases — the most infectious stages — have now risen every year since, spiking 9.3% from 2021 to 2022, the CDC says.
