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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded over 2 million cases of STDs in 2016, the highest-ever number. The most prevalent disease, with 1.6 million cases, was chlamydia, followed by gonorrhea, with 470,000 cases.

Why it matters: The number of reported cases is on the rise. There were 4.7% more cases of chlamydia in 2016 than 2015, and an 18.5% increase in gonorrhea during that time period. Cases of syphilis, which are much less prevalent than chlamydia or gonorrhea, saw a 17.6% bump from 2015 to 2016.

More STD cases recorded in 2016 than ever before

The most prevalent disease was chlamydia.

The bacteria which causes chlamydia, the most prevalent STD in 2016. Photo: CDC via AP

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="recorded" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats16/natoverview.htm" data-vars-content-id="aac6ea2b-ef69-4370-b132-b1c74537c298" data-vars-headline="More STD cases recorded in 2016 than ever before" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats16/natoverview.htm" target="_blank">recorded</a> over 2 million cases of STDs in 2016, the highest-ever number. The most prevalent disease, with 1.6 million cases, was chlamydia, followed by gonorrhea, with 470,000 cases.Why it matters: The number of reported cases is on the rise. There were 4.7% more cases of chlamydia in 2016 than 2015, and an 18.5% increase in gonorrhea during that time period. Cases of syphilis, which are much less prevalent than chlamydia or gonorrhea, saw a 17.6% bump from 2015 to 2016.

More STD cases recorded in 2016 than ever before

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