From the Advocate online…

Despite the number of sexually transmitted infection (STI) cases remaining high, new data from the CDC found that the epidemic may be slowing down, particularly among gay men.

There were more than 2.4 million reported cases of STIs in 2023, according to the organization’s annual Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance. While the number may seem daunting, the rates of infections overall are going down — gonorrhea cases declined 7 percent from 2022, dropping for the second year in a row as well as falling below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels from 2019.

Primary and secondary syphilis cases also fell 10 percent, which the CDC noted marks “the first substantial decline in more than two decades.” These stages of syphilis, which are the most infectious, also dropped 13 percent among gay and bisexual men for the first time since the CDC began tracking the group in the mid-2000s.

Read the full article.