Key Takeaways
Adult STI cases dropped 9% in 2024, including declines in chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis
But nearly 4,000 babies were born with syphilis in 2024, up from 300 in 2012
20% of pregnant women are not screened for syphilis, leaving some newborns at risk
THURSDAY, Sept. 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) declined in U.S. adults last year, but syphilis passed from mothers to newborns continued to climb, new federal data shows.
Tentative numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal a third straight year of fewer gonorrhea cases and a second consecutive year of declines in adult chlamydia and the most contagious forms of syphilis.
Even so, congenital syphilis — when an infected mother passes the disease to h