This week we got the latest data on sexually transmitted infections from a CDC’s annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report which told of some serious problems we’re having with STDs in this country.

More than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in the United States in 2016, the highest number ever.

Perhaps most tragic is the continued increase in congenital syphilis. In 2016, there were a total of 628 reported cases of congenital syphilis, including 41 syphilitic stillbirths, and the national rate was 15.7 cases per 100,000 live births. This is nearly double the 334 cases reported in 2012.

Senior Associate with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Amesh Adalja, MD joined me to discuss congenital syphilis what’s behind the increase we are seeing.

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Other podcasts with Dr Adalja:

An infant demonstrating mucous patches and skin lesions resulting from congenital syphilis Image/CDC
An infant demonstrating mucous patches and skin lesions resulting from congenital syphilis
Image/CDC

Related:

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Those common and those not so common, Part 1

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Those common and those not so common, Part 2