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    Friday, April 26, 2024

    3 sexually transmitted diseases hit new highs again in U.S.

    This April 1, 2016, file photo shows a billboard above a gas station that reads "Feel The Burn," promoting testing for sexually transmitted diseases. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. infections from three sexually transmitted diseases have risen for the fifth consecutive year.

    More than 1.7 million cases of chlamydia were reported last year. The infection rate rose 3 percent from 2017.

    It's the most ever reported in a year, though the trend is mainly attributed to increased testing.

    About 580,000 gonorrhea cases were reported. That's the highest number since 1991. The rate rose 5 percent. Scientists worry antibiotic resistance may be a factor.

    And the syphilis rate rose 15 percent. About 35,000 cases of the most contagious forms of the disease were reported — also the most since 1991.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers Tuesday.

    The increases coincided with public health funding cuts and clinic closures.

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