Coloradans got syphilis, gonorrhea at rates not seen since the 1990s during the first year of the pandemic
Rates of sexually transmitted infections jumped in Colorado and nationwide in 2020, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gerardo Orozco-Pacheco, a regional disease intervention specialist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said a lack of testing during the early phases of the pandemic may have allowed infections like syphilis and gonorrhea to spread, because people didn’t know to get treatment and notify their partners.In 2020, 26,137 people in Colorado tested positive for chlamydia; 9,686 for gonorrhea; and 1,785 for syphilis.
The only foolproof way to prevent sexually transmitted infections is not to have sex, but using condoms correctly and limiting partners reduce the risk. The three diseases covered in the CDC’s report are caused by bacteria and can be cured with antibiotics. Syphilis infection is particularly dangerous during pregnancy, because it increases the odds of stillbirth, death in infancy and certain disabilities. Treating the birthing parent virtually eliminates the risk to the baby, but congenital syphilis rates have been rising nationwide since 2005.