
Syphilis Rates in Pregnant Women Continue to Rise
Syphilis rates among pregnant women went up 222% percent between 2016 and 2022 and another 28% between 2022 and 2024. This alarming increase shows too many pregnant women are not being screened.
Sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life. The American Sexual Health Association (a.k.a. ASHA) believes that everyone has the right to information and services that will help them be sexually healthy. We aim to provide information and resources that are reliable, science-based, and stigma-free.

Syphilis rates among pregnant women went up 222% percent between 2016 and 2022 and another 28% between 2022 and 2024. This alarming increase shows too many pregnant women are not being screened.

At the end of 2025, the American Cancer Society released its new cervical cancer screening guidelines. In January 2026, the Health Resources and Services Administration endorsed a new set of guidelines as well. Both suggest HPV screening with self collected samples is an acceptable option.

Research suggests that only one dose of the HPV vaccine may be effective enough to prevent HPV-related disease, including cancer.

Australia has been a leader in HPV-prevention and cervical cancer screening for decades. Because of this, it is now close to eliminating cervical cancer entirely. However, recent drops in vaccination and screening rates threaten this progress.

The FDA approved two new drugs to treat gonorrhea The new drugs—gepotidacin and zoliflodacin—are both new kinds of antibiotics and represent the first completely new treatment options in over thirty years.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) released new recommendations for cervical cancer screening that focus on HPV testing and approve the use of self-collected samples. The recommendations also clarify the age at which screening should start and stop.

Public health officials in England announced that they have identified a new combined type of mpox. Tests show the virus was a unique mix of the two known types of mpox and experts are concerned about what this means for future spread of the virus.

A committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made an alarming change to the recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine that will leave some infants unprotected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently made striking changes to its online information about the connection between vaccines and autism that put the agency on the wrong side of science.

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) warns of rising levels of drug-resistant gonorrhea. The data comes from reported cases of gonorrhea in 12 countries across five WHO regions.

We’ve known for years that the HPV vaccine works. Now new research shows that widespread vaccination even protects those who haven’t gotten the shot. This study proves that it is possible to reach herd immunity for HPV.

A more serious type of mpox may be spreading California. Three people in the state were hospitalized with the virus.

ASHA announces Rebecca (Becca) Karpinski as the Interim President and CEO of ASHA.

The CDC just released STI Surveillance Data for 2024 that show cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are slowly declining.
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ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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