Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise — so why are fewer Americans using condoms? – By Nicole Karlis (Salon) / Aug 3, 2023
Against a backdrop of rising STI cases and decreasing reproductive rights, condom use has recklessly fallen
Earlier this month, public health officials warned of a syphilis outbreak in Houston, with cases jumping 57 percent between 2019 and 2022. Syphilis is a bacterial infection spread by sexual contact. The outbreak mirrored a national trend in which sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, are all sharply rising. More than 2.5 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in 2021.
Experts like Dr. Allen Ghareeb, a maternal-fetal medicine fellow based in Washington, tells Salon there are many reasons why STIs are on the rise. For one, like many suspected, the COVID-19 pandemic kept people out of routine care, particularly when it came to sexual and reproductive health. Because many STIs can be asymptomatic, a lack of routine checkups proved to exacerbate the already worrisome trend.
Compounded with the ongoing shame and stigma attached to getting tested or having an STI, the rise in infections makes some sense. However, an overall decline in condom use is partly to blame for the trend as well. This is puzzling given that reproductive rights are regressing and STD rates are rising. One would expect contraceptive options like condoms to be flying off shelves — but they’re not.
