NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia cases remained below prepandemic levels, according to federal data released Tuesday.
The numbers represented some good news about sexually transmitted diseases, which experienced some alarming increases in past years due to declining condom use, inadequate sex education, and reduced testing and treatment when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Last year, cases of the most infectious stages of syphilis fell 10% from the year before — the first substantial decline in more than two decades. Gonorrhea cases dropped 7%, marking a second straight year of decline and bringing the number below what it was in 2019.
“I’m encouraged, and it’s been a long time since I felt that way” about the nation’s epidemic of sexually transmitted infections, said the CDC’s Dr. Jonathan Mermin. “Something is working."
More than 2.4 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia were diagnosed and reported last year — 1.6 million cases of chlamydia, 600,000 of gonorrhea, and more than 209,000 of syphilis.
Syphilis is a particular concern. For centuries, it was a common but feared infection that could deform the body and end in death. New cases plummeted in the U.S. starting in the 1940s when infection-fighting antibiotics became widely available, and they trended down for a half century after that. By 2002, however, cases began rising again, with men who have sex with other men being disproportionately affected.
The new report found cases of syphilis in their early, most infectious stages dropped 13% among gay and bisexual men. It was the first such drop since the agency began reporting data for that group in the mid-2000s.
However, there was a 12% increase in the rate of cases of unknown- or later-stage syphilis — a reflection of people infected years ago.
Cases of syphilis in newborns, passed on from infected mothers, also rose. There were nearly 4,000 cases, including 279 stillbirths and infant deaths.
“This means pregnant women are not being tested often enough,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.
What caused some of the STD trends to improve? Several experts say one contributor is the growing use of an antibiotic as a “morning-after pill.” Studies have shown that taking doxycycline within 72 hours of unprotected sex cuts the risk of developing syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia.
In June, the CDC started recommending doxycycline as a morning-after pill, specifically for gay and bisexual men and transgender women who recently had an STD diagnosis. But health departments and organizations in some cities had been giving the pills to people for a couple years.
Some experts believe that the 2022 mpox outbreak — which mainly hit gay and bisexual men — may have had a lingering effect on sexual behavior in 2023, or at least on people's willingness to get tested when strange sores appeared.
Another factor may have been an increase in the number of health workers testing people for infections, doing contact tracing and connecting people to treatment. Congress gave $1.2 billion to expand the workforce over five years, including $600 million to states, cities and territories that get STD prevention funding from CDC.
Last year had the "most activity with that funding throughout the U.S.,” said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors.
However, Congress ended the funds early as a part of last year’s debt ceiling deal, cutting off $400 million. Some people already have lost their jobs, said a spokeswoman for Harvey's organization.
Still, Harvey said he had reasons for optimism, including the growing use of doxycycline and a push for at-home STD test kits.
Also, there are reasons to think the next presidential administration could get behind STD prevention. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump announced a campaign to “eliminate” the U.S. HIV epidemic by 2030. (Federal health officials later clarified that the actual goal was a huge reduction in new infections — fewer than 3,000 a year.)
There were nearly 32,000 new HIV infections in 2022, the CDC estimates. But a boost in public health funding for HIV could also also help bring down other sexually transmitted infections, experts said.
“When the government puts in resources, puts in money, we see declines in STDs,” Klausner said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - This 1975 microscope image made available by the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria. (Dr. E. Arum, Dr. N. Jacobs/CDC via AP)
FILE - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen, April 5, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Joe Biden will welcome President-elect Donald Trump to the White House on Wednesday for an Oval Office visit that is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power — a ritual Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago.
Meanwhile, House control remains in the balance with a dozen races left to be called.
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Here’s the latest:
Trump arrived a little behind schedule for the meeting with President Joe Biden.
It was scheduled for 11 a.m. ET.
As Trump was appearing on Capitol Hill, Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted educators at the White House to talk about the administration’s work to promote community colleges.
Jill Biden has taught English and writing at community colleges for many years.
At one point she noted that the semester is ending soon and her students are working on their final assignments. Then she said, “Joe and I are also preparing for what’s coming next.”
Biden then made the sign of the cross over himself and smiled. The audience laughed.
Musk, who’s been a fixture of late with Trump, arrived at the GOP conference in Washington just as Trump was coming in to address leaders.
On Tuesday night, Trump said Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would run a panel focused on government efficiency that would be outside government but advise the White House. It’s not entirely clear how the operation will work.
“We won it every way, all seven swing states by a lot,” he said, speaking to GOP leaders in Washington.
Trump commented on the results in Democratic strongholds like New Jersey and California, declaring that winning in the latter state would be “very doable. It would be really doable if they change the election process.”
Trump is speaking to GOP leaders in Washington for the first time since he won the 2024 presidential election.
“It’s always nice to win,” Trump said.
Trump won 312 electoral votes to Democrat Kamala Harris’ 226.
Trump got a standing ovation from House GOP leaders gathered for a conference at a Washington hotel Wednesday morning.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said: “Ladies and gentlemen please stand for the 47th President of the United States.”
Rubio, when asked about it Wednesday, told reporters “those are media reports” and said any news would come from Trump’s transition team.
The Republican Florida senator is a former critic of Trump who’s become one of his fiercest defenders and appeared with him on the campaign trail in the final weeks.
As House Republicans are meeting, two members of Congress trying to come to agreement on border and immigration policy are being honored for their efforts.
Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York and Republican Congressman Morgan Luttrell of Texas began their effort in July.
They were honored Wednesday in Washington by the National Immigration Forum, an organization that promotes the value of immigration in America.
The president-elect walked slowly down the airplane stairs at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, greeted his military greeter and got into the motorcade for the trip to Capitol Hill.
He did not speak with reporters who were there to document his arrival in Washington.
It’s meant to reassure investors in his publicly traded company, Tesla.
The billionaire, in a post on X on Wednesday, shared a message from a shareholder in his company noting that his appointment running a new “Department of Government Efficiency” for President-elect Donald Trump will provide advice and guidance to the new president from outside of government and is limited to 21 months, ending on July 4, 2026.
Musk shared the post with the message: “Important details”
“Her husband’s return to the Oval Office to commence the transition process is encouraging, and she wishes him great success,” Melania Trump’s office said.
No reason was given for why she didn’t accept the invitation.
The Bidens had extended congratulations and a joint invite to the Trumps to meet at the White House. The spouses typically meet upstairs in the residence while the president and president-elect meet in the Oval Office.
Donald Trump is making a victor’s return to Washington.
The president-elect’s plane landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Wednesday morning. President Joe Biden — both Trump’s successor and predecessor to the presidency — will welcome him to the White House for an Oval Office visit. It’s a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power — a ritual Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago.
Trump also planned to meet with congressional Republicans as they focus on his Day 1 priorities and prepare for a potentially unified government with a GOP sweep of power in the nation’s capital. His visit, amid Republican congressional leadership elections, could put his imprint on the outcome.
▶ Read more about Trump and Biden’s meeting
The vice president is spending the morning in meetings at her official residence, according to a person with knowledge of her schedule.
If she does show up later — either at the White House or the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where most of her staff works — it likely wouldn’t be until after Trump leaves.
— Chris Megerian
Tom Emmer of Minnesota says he’s expecting Trump to talk to House Republicans about how to “restart America’s economy by unleashing American energy,” sealing the southern border and removing immigrants who entered illegally under President Biden.
“I expect him to give a great message today, more like a locker room speech getting everybody ready for what’s coming in January,” Emmer said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
Billionaire Elon Musk will join Trump in Washington, according to a Trump aide.
The SpaceX owner, who Trump just named to a government efficiency advisory role in the new administration, is not currently expected to be at Trump’s meeting with Biden at the White House.
Musk will join Trump’s earlier meeting with House Republicans before he and Biden meet in the Oval Office. He’s been a steady presence at Trump’s side since the election.
It was Biden’s poor performance at that debate that led Democrats to start pressuring him to drop out and let another candidate take on Trump.
Biden pulled the plug on his campaign weeks later and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. She lost to Trump in last week’s election.
President-elect Donald Trump is on his way to Washington to meet with Republican congressional leaders on Capitol Hill and President Joe Biden at the White House.
Trump’s plane took off from the airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, around 7:30 a.m. ET for the roughly two-hour flight to the U.S. capital.
A meeting between the incoming and outgoing president is tradition but then-President Trump didn’t invite Biden to the White House after he lost to the Democrat in 2020.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says it was important to Biden to invite Trump because he believes in the “norms” and a peaceful transfer of power.
Republican senators will gather behind closed doors Wednesday to decide who will replace longtime Senate leader Mitch McConnell and lead their new majority next year — a decision that could shape the future of the Senate, and the party, as Donald Trump reclaims the presidency.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Florida Sen. Rick Scott have been scrambling to win the most votes in the secret ballot election, promising a new direction in the Senate even as they furiously compete for Trump’s favor. It will be the first test of Trump’s relationship with Congress after he won the election decisively and claimed a mandate for his agenda.
It’s uncertain who will win.
▶ Read more about the GOP’s decision
The U.S. Capitol is seen on a sunrise on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The Latest: Trump returns to Washington to meet with Biden and GOP lawmakers
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump smiles at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
The Latest: Trump returns to Washington to meet with Biden and GOP lawmakers
