PROVIDENCE – A recently-released report by the R.I. Department of Health shows that several sexually-transmitted infections are declining in prevalence, reversing a years-long trend of significant increases.
However, higher diagnosis rates were observed among some demographics. HIV cases were also on the rise from 2023 to 2024, though this trend did not continue into 2025.
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Last month, RIDOH released its 2024 HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Viral Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis Surveillance Report, which presents year-over-year data from 2023 to 2024, as well as preliminary findings from 2025.
From 2023 to 2024, chlamydia, gonorrhea and infectious syphilis cases decreased after “several years of substantial increases” in these cases, the report found. Preliminary data from 2025 suggests that this downward trend will continue, according to RIDOH.
Chlamydia cases dropped from 5,269 to 4,681 from 2023 to 2024, while infectious syphilis cases fell to 161, down from 190 in 2023 and a nine-year high of 328 in 2021.
Gonorrhea cases also dipped, though slightly, from 1,627 to 1622 from 2023 to 2024, but rates have increased by 180% over the last decade.
While other STIs saw an overall decline, the Ocean State recorded an increase in new HIV diagnoses in 2024. HIV diagnoses did not increase in 2025 and fell below Rhode Island’s 10-year average of 70 new cases each year.
The report also found that some at-risk populations, including young adults aged 15-24; Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino communities; and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men are disproportionately diagnosed with some STIs.
“The underlying causes (of these disparities) are complex and include poverty, income inequality, limited access to healthcare, stigma and discrimination,” the report states. “People living in communities with a higher STI prevalence are also more likely to encounter an infected partner than people living in settings with a lower prevalence, which further perpetuates these disparities.”
The report notes that recognizing these impacts across racial and ethnic groups “is an essential first step toward addressing structural inequities.
The state also saw a slight increase in monkeypox in 2024 and 2025, the report notes, and a significant decrease in hospitalizations for hepatitis C: Between 2015 and 2024, inpatient hospitalizations for hepatitis C steadily fell from 2,710 to 894.
Though not an STI, the report also includes statistics on tuberculosis. The Ocean State saw 23 cases in 2024, compared to 27 a year earlier.
“As this report details, these conditions disproportionately affect some populations in Rhode Island,” said RIDOH Director Dr. Jerry Larkin. “RIDOH maintains a strong program to track these trends and tailor prevention and control efforts.
“While there is much more work to be done,” Larkin continued, “we’re very pleased to see data in our most recent report indicating that Rhode Island’s innovative prevention efforts may be helping to reverse troubling STI trends.”
RIDOH highlighted several resources for STI prevention, including the Right to Know educational web app for adolescents and information on accessing HIV testing and preventative medications.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
