US gonorrhea rate at record low, other STDs rise

ATLANTA - ATLANTA (AP) - A new government report on sexually spread diseases shows gonorrhea in the United States has dipped to the lowest rate ever recorded.

But chlamydia (KLAH'-mid-ee-ah) and syphilis infections continued to increase last year. That's according to a report released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency says there are roughly 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases annually.

Gonorrhea dropped to 301,000 cases, the lowest rate since reporting began in 1941.

Chlamydia reached another record high with 1.2 million cases. It's an easily treatable infection, mostly in young women. Officials attribute the increase to more and better screening. Syphilis inched up again to 14,000 cases.