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New cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis rose sharply for the fourth consecutive year in 2017, to a record high of nearly 2.3 million, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number surpassed the previous record, which was set in 2016, by more than 200,000 cases. The statistics are an alarming sign that the systems to prevent and treat sexually transmitted diseases are “strained to near-breaking point,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, a top C.D.C. official. (Zraick, 8/28)

Chlamydia, a bacterial infection, remained the most common sexually transmitted disease, with more than 1.7 million reported cases. But health officials are concerned that gonorrhea cases increased a startling 67 percent between 2013 and 2017, and syphilis climbed even faster — 76 percent over those four years. After many years of success in controlling sexually transmitted diseases, "We've been sliding backwards," says Dr. Gail Bolan, director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. She spoke at a news conference in Washington Tuesday. (Harris, 8/28)

“We are sliding backward,” said Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “It is evident the systems that identify, treat, and ultimately prevent STDs are strained to near-breaking point.” (Hellmann, 8/28)

The CDC also reported on Tuesday that, in lab tests, more samples of gonorrhea are showing resistance to one of the antibiotics that authorities recommend to treat the disease. CDC guidelines since 2015 have called on gonorrhea to be treated with a single shot of ceftriaxone along with an oral dose of azithromycin — a boost meant to extend the life of ceftriaxone against resistant bugs. (Joseph, 8/28)