Some of the worst medical crises in American history have occurred recently. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked unimaginable destruction, there is no denying that. But the United States is facing an increasing number of problems that are just as damaging.
The UK is where the monkeypox outbreak started. The first known death was just reported in Los Angeles County, while it was not thought to pose a substantial threat to most Americans. There was an unexplained increase in children with acute hepatitis in May 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a surge of mental health problems that can be linked to it. The pandemic appeared to fuel a growing crisis after suicide rates had been rising steadily over the previous 20 years. Along with a rise in suicide rates, the pandemic also resulted in numerous other mental health problems.
The National Coalition of STD Directors’ executive director is David Harvey. The current scenario is “out of control,” according to Harvey. Harvey’s critical assessment is supported by the statistics. Less than 7,000 new syphilis cases were reported in the United States in 1998.
However, within four short years, syphilis cases started to increase. The main rise in cases was in gay and bisexual men. Again, an alternative lifestyle choice started to create a health crisis across a wide range of sexual persuasions.
The case count continued to rise precipitously. In late 2013, the Centers for Disease Control stopped its efforts to eliminate syphilis in the U.S. That year, cases surpassed 17,000. In less than a decade, cases increased to over 40,000.
The final case count in 2021 was 52,000 reported syphilis infections. That’s a rate of infection of about 16 per 100,000 people. It is the highest rate of syphilis infections in three decades. It appears the CDC’s efforts to eradicate it failed miserably.
It’s not the first public health crisis entrusted to the CDC, where they have failed miserably. Experts say there could be any number of reasons for the increase in syphilis and other STDs. Some insist that poor testing and feeble preventative measures are at fault.
Others blame inadequate funding. The fact that condom use has dropped is clearly a contributing factor. But obviously, an increase in risky sexual behavior must be considered a strong contributor. America has lost more than two years of freedom to a deadly pandemic.
Many have lost their sense of right and wrong. Since the wane of COVID-19, there has been an alarming surge in sexual activity. Some say people feel liberated. Maybe the spike in STDs is part of a deeper problem. Just maybe people don’t care enough to use common sense.