David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, called the situation "out of control."
An alarming number of sexually transmitted diseases has surged in America, prompting officials to call for more preventative measures, CBS News reported.
Of the STD numbers, there has been a 26% rise in new syphilis infections reported last year, CBS News reported.
In 2021, the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest level in 20 years, and the total number of cases hit its highest since 1948, People reported.
Gonorrhea has been increasing for several years and HIV cases are also on the rise, with an increase of 16% last year, People reported.
"It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.," said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases.
Some of the ways to help curb the STD rise is home test kits for some STDs that will make it easier for people to learn they are infected and to take steps to prevent spreading it to others, according to US News and World Report.
Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told US News and World Report that a core part of efforts must be to increase condom use.
"It's pretty simple. More sexually transmitted infections occur when people are having more unprotected sex," Saag said.
Infections rates for some STDs, including gonorrhea and syphilis, have been rising for years, CBS News reported.
Also falling into the STD category is monkeypox, which has been making headlines in 2022 as cases have been rising across the country as it is transmitted through sex.
David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, called the situation "out of control."
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