Millions admit to knowingly giving a partner an STD, survey finds… Daily Mail maps reveal if you are at risk

Millions of Americans have knowingly had sex while infected with a sexually transmitted disease, according to a survey.

A poll of US adults found 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with an STD have had sex without disclosing their status.

Of those who did not disclose their status, nearly six in ten said the encounter was unprotected, significantly increasing the risk of transmitting the infection.

A further 17 percent said they were aware they passed the STD to their partner, while overall, out of the nearly 8,000 people surveyed, one in ten admitted they knowingly gave their partner a disease, according to sexual health swabbing service Testing.com.

The report comes as more than 2.2 million people are diagnosed with new STDs — including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis — in the US every year. This is 13 percent higher than it was a decade ago.  

Louisiana and Alaska are both in the top three states in the nation for the highest rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia, the two most common STDs. 

Mississippi had the nation’s second-highest rate of chlamydia, while Georgia had the third-highest rate of gonorrhea.

For syphilis, which can cause permanent nerve damage and miscarriages in pregnant women, South Dakota had the highest rates in the US, followed by New Mexico and Mississippi. 

The climb in STD rates correlates to a decline in condom use — particularly among younger generations. About 52 percent of sexually active high schoolers said they used a condom at their last sexual encounter, according to the data, down 7 percent from a decade earlier.

In the survey, Testing.com polled 7,895 US residents ages 18 to 65 who had been infected with an STD at least once. 

Out of 700 individuals who knowingly gave their partner an STD, nearly a third of these individuals said they did not disclose the infection before having sex with a casual partner, while almost a quarter kept it secret during a first-time encounter.

Alarmingly, 13 percent said they did not reveal their STD status to a partner with whom they were in a monogamous, exclusive relationship, while nine percent said they had not revealed their STD status to a spouse. 

Twenty-three percent said they had kept it secret from someone they were dating, but were not exclusive with.

Young men were the group that was most likely to hide their STD-positive status, the survey said.

Dr Toni Brayer, an internal medicine doctor at the Washington state-based company, said: ‘Hiding an STD from a partner can seriously harm their health.

‘Chlamydia, syphilis, HPV warts and HIV can cause problems such as infertility, chronic pain or even death.’

She added: ‘Not disclosing can put the partner at risk and is a breach of trust that can permanently damage the relationship. Disclosure is important so both partners can decide about testing, treatment and protection.’

Additionally, of those who said they knowingly passed on an STD, 40 percent said they had admitted their status to a partner after that individual had tested positive.

Thirty-two percent said they did not reveal their status because of shame or embarrassment, while 18 percent said they did not disclose it because of ‘alcohol or being in the heat of the moment’ or as they believed the risk of transmission was low.

Fifteen percent said they did not mention it to avoid ‘jeopardizing the relationship’, while 13 percent said they did not want to ‘ruin the moment’. Another nine percent said they did not think it was necessary to reveal their STD status.

It was not clear which STDs the participants were infected with, but the most common in the US are chlamydia and gonorrhea.

It was also not clear what was defined as sexual contact. STDs can be transmitted through close sexual contact, such as oral sex, vaginal intercourse and anal intercourse.

Doctors and officials urge patients to reveal their STD status before having sexual intercourse with someone.

In parts of the US, failing to disclose an HIV status to someone before sexual contact can lead to up to 30 years in prison. Failing to reveal a herpes status can lead to jail time for 12 months and significant fines.

STD rates exploded in the US in the wake of the COVID pandemic, surging to 2.5 million infections in a year in 2021, as eased restrictions led to a rebound in dating apps and socializing.

Infections are now declining again and, in the latest data from 2024, dropped 9 percent compared to the year beforehand.

Officials are particularly concerned about syphilis, a highly infectious bacterial STD that causes rashes around the genital area as well as fever and swollen lymph nodes.

They warn that if this infection is left untreated, it can lead to irreversible damage to the brain, eyes or spinal cord.

It is also possible for it to be passed to a developing fetus in a pregnant woman, raising the risk of a miscarriage or stillbirth.