Americans are paying a steep price for the rampant promiscuity that currently grips the nation, particularly among young people and gay and bisexual men, with three sexually transmitted diseases reaching record levels in 2015.

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) newly released Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, total combined cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis reported in 2015 reached the highest number ever.

The report states that there were more than 1.5 million chlamydia cases reported (1,526,658), nearly 400,000 cases of gonorrhea (395,216), and nearly 24,000 cases of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis (23,872) – the most infectious stages of the disease. The largest increase in cases reported from 2014 to 2015 occurred in P&S syphilis (19 percent), followed by gonorrhea (12.8 percent) and chlamydia (5.9 percent).

Chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are the three most commonly reported conditions in the nation and have reached a record high level.

“We have reached a decisive moment for the nation,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “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 goes on to say that chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are curable with antibiotics. Widespread access to screening and treatment would reduce their spread. Most STD cases continue to go undiagnosed and untreated, putting individuals at risk for severe and often irreversible health consequences, including infertility, chronic pain and increased risk for HIV.

STDs also impose a substantial economic burden: CDC estimates STD cases cost the U.S. healthcare system nearly $16 billion each year.

Young people and gay and bisexual men continue to face the greatest risk of becoming infected with an STD, and there continue to be troubling increases in syphilis among newborns.

“The health outcomes of syphilis – miscarriage, stillbirth, blindness or stroke – can be devastating,” Dr. Gail Bolan, Director of CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, said. “The resurgence of congenital syphilis and the increasing impact of syphilis among gay and bisexual men makes it clear that many Americans are not getting the preventive services they need. Every pregnant woman should be tested for syphilis, and sexually active gay and bisexual men should be tested for syphilis at least once a year.”

Some of the more alarming findings in the report are:

• Americans ages 15 to 24 years old accounted for nearly two-thirds of chlamydia diagnoses and half of gonorrhea diagnoses.

• Men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for the majority of new gonorrhea and P&S syphilis cases (82 percent of male cases with known gender of sex partner). Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea may be higher among MSM.

• Women’s rate of syphilis diagnosis increased by more than 27 percent from 2014 to 2015. Reported congenital syphilis (which occurs when the infection is transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby) increased by 6 percent. Women still account for less than 10 percent of new P&S syphilis infections.

To prevent and control STDs, the CDC supports state and local health departments with disease surveillance, contact tracing and health promotion. It also issues testing and treatment guidelines for providers so individuals get the most effective care.

“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. “Turning the STD epidemics around requires bolstering prevention efforts and addressing new challenges – but the payoff is substantial in terms of improving health, reducing disparities and saving billions of dollars.”

Unfortunately, the report fails to mention any support for abstinence education, which is the only certain course of action to prevent the spread of STDs.

“Clearly, teen sex is a risky behavior,” writes Valerie Huber, president of the National Abstinence Education Association. “Although it has been demonstrated by copious amounts of social science research, this reality is rarely acknowledged. In fact, it is routinely ignored.”

She adds: “Teens who are taught that sexual experimentation is fine so long as they use contraception are given a false sense of security. However, they are still at significant risk for becoming another statistic in the STD epidemic. Condoms are the only contraception that offers any protective risk reduction against STDs. Even so, two of the four most prevalent STDs among youth are easily transmissible, even with the correct and consistent use of a condom.”

The bottom line is that this epidemic is never going to be curbed if we continue to employ the same useless weaponry. We need to face the facts – promiscuity is a health hazard and it needs to be treated like one.

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