FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Apr. 13, 2026

National Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Awareness Week is April 12-18, and the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is using the observance to raise awareness of the impact of STIs in all populations as well as focus on how these infections affect young people.

STI Awareness Week provides an opportunity to examine how STIs and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) impact our lives. It also helps to reduce STI and STD-related stigma, fear and discrimination. DPH works with its partners throughout the year to ensure that people have the tools and knowledge to prevent, test for and treat STDs.

“STI Awareness Week is about empowering people with knowledge and encouraging proactive health choices,” said Bernard Gilliard, STD Program manager. “By normalizing conversations around sexual health and making testing more accessible, we can significantly reduce infection rates and improve overall community well-being.”

Focused Approach

DPH’s programs and community partners focus their STD and HIV prevention efforts to reach people most at risk of acquiring these infections. This includes efforts to reach youth and young adults with information and resources to avoid infections.

In 2024, our last year of reported data, the following can be noted for South Carolina:

• 81% of reported cases of chlamydia were diagnosed in people under 30. Of those cases, 36% were diagnosed in youth ages 15 to 19.
• 66% of reported cases of gonorrhea were diagnosed people under 30. Of those cases, 29% were diagnosed in youth ages 15 to 19.
• 32% percent of reported cases of primary and secondary syphilis were diagnosed in people under 30. Of those cases, 12% were diagnosed in youth and young adult ages 15 to 24.

While STD cases in youth and young adults remain a focus of concern, congenital syphilis in South Carolina has reached critical, record high levels – 44 cases (77.6 cases/100,000 live births) in 2024, marking the highest number of cases and rate since 1995.

Often asymptomatic at birth and preventable, congenital syphilis is passed from mother to fetus and can lead to severe adverse outcomes, including low birth weight, prematurity, or death shortly after birth. Contributing factors to this surge are largely attributed to increased overall syphilis rates, lack of adequate prenatal care, and factors associated with rural poverty, such as limited access to health care.  

The increase in congenital syphilis cases reflects the increase in syphilis cases among women. The number of reported syphilis cases among women in South Carolina increased from 178 in 2015 to 929 in 2024. DPH emphasizes that all pregnant women should enter prenatal care early in pregnancy, be screened for syphilis at their first prenatal visit and again early in the third trimester.  

DPH’s programs also work to increase access to treatment and support services for those who are affected by HIV and other STDs.

For more information about STDs and locations that provide screenings throughout the year, call DPH’s HIV/STD Hotline at 1-800-322-AIDS (1-800-322-2437) or visit DPH’s website at dph.sc.gov/std.  

Visit the DPH website for more information and resources on HIV and STDs. You can also learn more about South Carolina's Ending the Epidemics Plan.

###