The epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States appears to be cooling off after more than two decades, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study says.

More than 2.4 million STIs were reported last year, compared to more than 2.5 million in 2022, with nearly half occurring in adolescents and young adults aged 15–24, according to a report by the agency.

In addition to a national decrease in STIs overall, the CDC said there was a slowdown in the number of new cases of newborn syphilis, when a baby contracts the illness in the womb, were still higher than last year, but at a reduced level.

Since 2013, gonorrhea rates have been consistently higher among men than women, largely due to cases among men who have sex with men (MSM). Data from the STI Surveillance Network (SSuN) suggests that MSM accounted for about half of gonorrhea cases in 2023, though this varied by jurisdiction.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday shows meaningful declines in STI rates between 2022 and 2023.

Although sexually transmitted infections are still at an epidemic level in the US, scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expressing cautious optimism about some decreases emerging in the newest data.

The STI epidemic appears to be cooling off in the U.S. Gonorrhea cases dropped for a second year in 2023. Syphilis cases increased 1%, but declined in key groups