Sexually transmitted diseases exploded in 2021, with syphilis rates reaching levels not seen in decades, according to an official from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Syphilis, a bacterial disease that shows up as genital sores and can lead to other diseases and even death, showed a huge increase last year.
The rate of syphilis cases reached its highest level since 1991, while the total number of cases rose to its highest level since 1948, just three years after World War II.
HIV cases also rose 16 percent from 2020 to 2021,The Guardian reports.Syphilis bottomed out in the U.S. in the late 1990s, with the CDC hoping to fully eradicate the disease.