One in five people in the United States has a sexually transmitted infection, according to estimates released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means nearly 68 million people are positive for STIs, including HIV, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, agency data, also published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, showed.

Roughly one-half all new cases of STIs occurred in people ages 15 to 24, the CDC said.

"The burden of STIs is staggering," Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the CDC said in a statement.

"At a time when STIs are at an all-time high, they have fallen out of the national conversation -- yet, [they] are a preventable and treatable national health threat with substantial personal and economic impact," said Mermin, director of the agency's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.

The new CDC estimates are based on a review of case reports from 2018, the most recent year for which data are available, the agency said. That year, roughly 26 million new STI cases were recorded. Chlamydia, trichomoniasis, genital herpes and human papillomavirus, or HPV, accounted for 98% of all STI cases in the United States. Read more via UPI