Cases of syphilis and other STIs drop in Pennsylvania, new data shows, as local counties ramp up prevention and testing

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Public health teams across Pennsylvania are more aggressively targeting sexually transmitted infections after cases sharply increased nationally during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

And it looks like these efforts are paying off, state officials say. Cases of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea in the commonwealth dropped between 2024 and 2025, according to new preliminary state data.

“However, we still have a lot of work to do,” said Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen earlier this month during a visit to the new Dauphin County State Health Center, which is among 59 state health centers that provide free STI counseling, testing and treatment in counties that don’t have local health departments.

Some of the biggest STI declines occurred in new cases of gonorrhea, which can be transmitted during sex, including oral sex. According to state data, 990 infections were reported in 2025, compared to 1,153 in 2024.

Syphilis infections also dropped. The number of primary cases, which is an early stage of infection typically marked by a single sore, and the number of secondary cases, which involves widespread rash, both dropped by nearly 30%.

But health disparities remain, Bogen said.

“Some groups have a higher burden than others, including young adults, people of color and men who have sex with men,” she said.

Congenital syphilis, which is an infection passed from mother to child during pregnancy, have also been declining overall in recent years, Bogen said. But the state recorded 16 cases in both 2024 and 2025.

How local health departments are ramping up STI programs

STI rates in Delaware County were so high at one point that they became a leading reason to establish a local health department in 2022.

Since then, the county has taken a proactive stance in expanding access to STI prevention tools, testing and treatment.

STI rates have been steadily declining, though they remain higher than state averages, said Lora Werner, director of the Delaware County Health Department.

Delaware County cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea also dropped from 2024 to 2025, but the numbers of total syphilis infections remained about the same.

County initiatives have included Doing Delco Safely, launched in 2023, which sent free condoms in the mail to local residents. That has since evolved into the current Test & Go kiosks program.

These self-use, publicly accessible machines are stocked with free condoms and test kits for STIs and HIV, as well as other health-related products like first aid kits, naloxone, gunlocks, drug test strips, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests and more.

“At each of our five locations, you can get your test kit, you can test yourself at home and then either put it in the mail or you can drop it back off at the kiosk and it’ll get picked up and you’ll get your results,” Werner said.

The kiosks increase access to testing, but also offer people more privacy and anonymity if they’re hesitant in visiting a health clinic in person, Werner said, especially teens and young adults.

“We just know that there’s stigma with STIs,” she said. “That’s why we were so excited about being able to offer the home testing and the kiosk, because it’s completely anonymous. You walk up to that machine, you do not have to talk to a person. And that’s the way a lot of younger people these days prefer to interact in the world.”

The county also expanded hours at its brick-and-mortar clinics in Chester and Yeadon.

A dedicated STI and HIV unit of workers follows up with people who’ve tested positive for an STI. The team does interviews in order to identify other medical or behavioral health needs as well as sexual partners who may need to get tested.

This kind of work takes a lot of trust and sensitivity, said Michael Bundor, supervisor of the county’s STI/HIV division.

“We ask so many questions – about your partners, how many partners you have, if you’re doing drugs, if you’re doing needles,” he said. “We have to ask all those questions just to have information at hand where we will be able to assist partners in the community.”

Bundor said he and his team spend a lot of time reassuring people that their health information will remain confidential, even when the county performs partner notifications. It has contributed to the county’s success in more partners getting tested, he said.

STI infections remain the most elevated among those aged between 10 and 29 years, said Meagan Sheikh, administrator of personal health. That’s why the county is focusing on doing more prevention education in schools, but it can be challenging in getting access.

“It’s difficult, because people don’t want their kids talking about sex at school,” she said.

However, the county has had some success. It has partnered with Widener University and Swarthmore College to offer free on-campus STI testing. At Penn State Brandywine, the county does STI awareness and prevention outreach like “cupcakes and condoms” events.

The county has also joined some primary school districts in appearing at health fairs to distribute education materials and prevention information.

“Something that we like to stress is that people 13 years and older, they’re able to get tested and treated without parental consent,” said Sheikh, who added that not every teen may feel comfortable in telling their parents they are sexually active.

The county holds a designated teen clinic every other Tuesday in Chester.

“It kind of gives them a safe space to come in, be tested and treated, if needed,” she said.