More than 1 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases are contracted every day around the planet, according to the World Health Organization.
The group released research Thursday saying there are more than 376 million new cases annually of four infections -- chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis. That breaks down to one out of every 25 people globally.
In 2016 among men and women ages 15–49 years, there were 127 million new cases of chlamydia, 87 million of gonorrhea, 6.3 million of syphilis and 156 million of trichomoniasis.
WHO says the diseases are spread predominantly through unprotected sexual contact, but some can also be transmitted during pregnancy and childbirth, or, in the case of syphilis, through contact with infected blood or blood products, and intravenous drug use.
During pregnancy, these diseases can lead to serious consequences for babies including stillbirth, neonatal death, low birth-weight and prematurity, sepsis, blindness, pneumonia, and congenital deformities.
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