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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] SYPHILIS: The above map shows the % change in syphilis cases by state between 2017 and 2021. The disease is exploding across the US after reaching such low levels in 2001 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested it could be eradicated.

The increase is consistent with national data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has found STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea increasing year after year.

The surge could be due to a lack of access to contraceptives shown to reduce STD risk, like condoms, which are discouraged in the state's largely religious population.

About 60 percent of Utah residents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. Just under half of those in Salt Lake County identify as Mormon.

According to state health data, syphilis cases in women increased by 800 percent between 2018 and 2022, multiplying from three cases to 27. Experts expect that number to double this year.

Of the cases, 89 percent were in women ages 15 to 44.

Figures from the CDC found that 3,761 babies were born in the US with the condition in 2022, up from 335 in 2012.

Steep rise from a tiny base. Never mind.