November 14, 2007
CDC Says Chlamydia, Syphilis Increasing
 
In a telephone interview with reporters yesterday, the head of the division on sexually transmitted diseases in the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that while the number of cases of gonorrhea reported to federal authorities has declined in the last two years, there has been an alarming increase in reported cases of chlamydia and syphilis. With an estimated 2.8 million cases annually, chlamydia is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection of the three—gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis—that doctors are required to report. Other sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes, papillomavirus, and trichomonas, are not required to be reported and their national incidence is unknown. “Chlamydia is now the most common STD ever reported,” said Dr. John Douglas, Jr., head of the sexually transmitted diseases division in the CDC. Some of the rise in chlamydia incidence may be due to more sensitive tests and requirements for annual testing of sexually active women under the age of 26, with chlamydia and gonorrhea testing often coupled in urine samples. The CDC also reported that the three reportable and curable diseases—gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis—affect African-Americans disproportionately, with black to white ratios 18 to 1 for gonorrhea, 6 to 1 for syphilis, and 8 to 1 for chlamydia. Dr. Douglas noted that health departments have faced increased demands for testing and treatment of STDs in recent years, at a time when their budgets are not increasing.