The statistics are not good. Cases of sexually transmitted infections are surging, and young people are taking the brunt of this troubling trend.
In 2018, twenty percent of the U.S. population – approximately one in five people – had an STI, according to the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) latest estimates. Nearly half of all new infections occurred in young people ages 15-24. While rates for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia have all risen, syphilis has seen a significant increase across the nation and in Colorado, particularly among men, and babies born with the infection.
“We have seen marked increases in all of these infections in our region,” said Joshua Welch, family practice physician at Northwest Colorado Health. “It’s very concerning because while they are treatable and curable, they are also preventable.”