Fashions come and go; stonewash, slap bands, Savage Garden. And now something else thought we’d stamped out is on the rise again. Syphilis.
A fall in condom use is driving strong growth in STIs, according to the authors of a report released today. Hep C is on a high, the clap continues to climb, and syphilis rates have soared to an all time high.
There are also nearly half a million people living with either Hep B or Hep C, leading to an increase of deaths from liver disease.
The report names several potential causes; HIV infected partners are less likely to use condoms, and therefore contract other STIs; and people are less afraid of contracting the disease because HIV and AIDS are much more treatable than they were in the 80s and 90s.
It’s not all bad news; chlamydia has plateaued, instances of genital warts are waning, and the HPV vaccine has been called a resounding success.
Treatments and diagnoses aside, there’s only one real recommendation to come out of this:
