TAMPA, FL – Today those old World War II posters warning GIs about the dangers of venereal disease seem ludicrous.

"Loaded? Loose woman may also be loaded with disease," is the maxim on one poster depicting a gun and a group of women dressed in '40s-style clothing from different European countries in which American soldiers were stationed.

Another poster reads: "If you can say condom in English, you know how to say condom in French, Italian and Spanish."

Then there is this memorable poster: "You can't win the war on terror with a scorching case of clap."

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention isn't laughing.

This year the number of Americans contracting sexually transmitted diseases is on target to reach epidemic levels, according to the CDC.

Data released by the CDC in April for three nationally reported STDs -- chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis -- show record numbers, with cases of all three diseases increasing for the first time since 2006.

More than two million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in the United States in 2016, the highest number ever, according to the CDC's annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report