The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more men are acquiring sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The report titled "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2012" summarizes the number of reported cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and Chlamydia. The data were provided by different institutions and programs that monitor STD positivity and prevalence in different settings, state and local programs, and other national surveys.
According to the report, there were 15,667 reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis -- higher by 1,697 than 2011. Of those reported cases, 11.1 percent of rate increase was only among men, while the rate for women remained the same. Additionally, 75 percent of the 2012 cases were reportedly men having sex with men.
For gonorrhea, the agency noted 334,826 cases in 2012, up by four percent in 2011. It was also noted that cases of the disease with women were slightly higher in women than in men. However, the 8.3 percent rate increase in men is higher compared to the 0.6 percent increase rate with women.
For Chlamydia, the agency noted 1.44 million cases, a figure higher by 0.7 percent than in 2011. Nonetheless, it represented the smallest yearly increase since the nationwide reporting for the disease started.
More so, the rate in women did not increase, but the rate in men increased by 3.2 percent.
Taken as a whole, the rate in women was 643.3 cases for every 100,000 women while overall rate in men was 262.6 for every 100,000 men. However, the agency noted that though the overall rate in women was twice the rate in men, we should consider the fact that more women get tested for the disease than men.
Dr. Eloisa Llata, a physician at the CDC's STD prevention division in Atlanta and the co-author of the report, told MedPage Today that men who have sex with men have contributed significantly on the numbers.
However, that doesn't mean women are cleared. "They may not be seeing the increases, but their rates and cases are not zero," she said.
"Every American is at risk, but some are especially vulnerable."