Modernizing Public Health Data Systems and Workforce Capacity: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program.

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed governmental public health's outdated information technology and insufficient data science and informatics workforce capacity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program (PHIFP) is well positioned to strengthen public health data science and informatics workforce capacity.

Program: Established in 1996, PHIFP is a 2-year, full-time, on-the-job training program.

Changes in Partner-Seeking and Sexual Behavior Among US Adults During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced partner-seeking and sexual behaviors of adults.

Methods: We examined cross-sectional survey data collected at the end of the first year (n = 1161) and second year (n = 1233) of the COVID-19 pandemic by the National Opinion Research Center's nationally representative, probability-based AmeriSpeak panel. Data were analyzed to (1) quantify behavioral changes across pandemic years, (2) examine changes of in-person dating prevalence during year 2, and (3) assess risk perception for acquiring COVID-19 or HIV/STIs through new partnerships during year 2.

Advancing Data Science Among the Federal Public Health Workforce: The Data Science Upskilling Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Context: Data can guide decision-making to improve the health of communities, but potential for use can only be realized if public health professionals have data science skills. However, not enough public health professionals possess the quantitative data skills to meet growing data science needs, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Program: The Data Science Upskilling (DSU) program increases data science literacy among staff and fellows working and training at CDC.

Evaluation of Public Health Contact Tracing for Mpox Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men-10 US Jurisdictions, May 17-July 31, 2022.

To examine the potential impact of contact tracing to identify contacts and prevent mpox transmission among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) as the outbreak expanded. We assessed contact tracing outcomes from 10 US jurisdictions before and after access to the mpox vaccine was expanded from postexposure prophylaxis for persons with known exposure to include persons at high risk for acquisition (May 17-June 30, 2022, and July 1-31, 2022, respectively). Overall, 1986 mpox cases were reported in MSM from included jurisdictions (240 before expanded vaccine access; 1746 after expanded vaccine access).

Chemsex Drug Use among a National Sample of Sexually Active Men who have Sex with Men, - American Men's Internet Survey, 2017-2020.

Chemsex is the intentional use of drugs to enhance sexual activity. Chemsex drug use among men who have sex with men (MSM) is associated with sexual behaviors that increase sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks and adverse mental health outcomes. However, published data are largely based on MSM recruited from STI clinics.

Factors Associated With Syphilis Transmission and Acquisition Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a Multisite Egocentric Network Study.

Background: In the United States, the rates of primary and secondary syphilis have increased more rapidly among men who have sex with men (MSM) than among any other subpopulation. Rising syphilis rates among MSM reflect changes in both individual behaviors and the role of sexual networks (eg, persons linked directly or indirectly by sexual contact) in the spread of the infection. Decades of research examined how sexual networks influence sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among MSM; however, few longitudinal data sources focusing on syphilis have collected network characteristics.

Shigellosis Cases With Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections: Population-Based Data From 6 US Jurisdictions, 2007 to 2016.

Background: Shigella species, which cause acute diarrheal disease, are transmitted via fecal-oral and sexual contact. To better understand the overlapping populations affected by Shigella infections and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, we examined the occurrence of reported STIs within 24 months among shigellosis case-patients.

Methods: Culture-confirmed Shigella cases diagnosed from 2007 to 2016 among residents of 6 US jurisdictions were matched to reports of STIs (chlamydia, gonorrhea, and all stages of syphilis) diagnosed 12 months before or after the shigellosis case.

Enteric Infections in Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Background: Enteric pathogens are often associated with exposure to food, water, animals, and feces from infected individuals. However, in sexual networks of men who have sex with men (MSM), transmission of enteric pathogens may occur during direct or indirect oral-anal contact.

Methods: We performed a scoping review of the literature for studies prior to July 2019 with key terms for gastrointestinal syndromes ("proctitis," "enteritis," "proctocolitis"), enteric pathogens or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and outbreaks using multiple electronic databases.

Primary and Secondary Syphilis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Women, 2010 to 2019.

The relative proportion of cases of primary and secondary syphilis among men who have sex with men and women reported through national case report data from 2010 to 2019 seemed stable overall and were stratified by race/ethnicity, region, and age group, but case counts increased.

Chlamydia trachomatis Variants Escaping Detection in the Aptima Combo 2 Assay in the United States.

Background: The Aptima Combo 2 (AC2) assay manufactured by Hologic, Inc., detects Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in urogenital and extragenital specimens by targeting either a 16S rRNA (N. gonorrhoeae) or 23S rRNA (CT) region.

Partner Seeking and Sexual Behavior in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 to March 2021.

We examined partner seeking and sexual behaviors among a representative sample of US adults (n = 1161) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 10% of survey respondents sought a new partner, with age and sexual identity being associated with partner seeking behavior. Approximately 7% of respondents had sex with a new partner, which marks a decrease as compared with a prepandemic estimate from 2015 to 2016 in which 16% of US adults reported having sex with a new partner during the past year.

Sustained Transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with High-Level Resistance to Azithromycin, in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2017-2018.

Background: Since 2014, Neisseria gonorrhoeae azithromycin (AZM) susceptibility has declined in the United States, but high-level AZM resistance (HL-AZMR) has been infrequent and sporadic. We describe a cluster of 14 N. gonorrhoeae isolates with HL-AZMR identified in Indianapolis over 13 months.

Enhancing Gonococcal Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance in Cisgender Women, Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea, 2018 to 2019.

Background: Cisgender women have been underrepresented in antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea (ARGC) surveillance systems. Three of 8 project sites (City of Milwaukee [MIL], Guilford County [GRB], Denver County [DEN]), funded under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea (SURRG), focused efforts to better include cisgender women in ARGC surveillance.

Methods: MIL, GRB, and DEN partnered with diverse health care settings and developed gonorrhea culture criteria to facilitate urogenital specimen collection in cisgender women and men.

Demographic and Epidemiological Characteristics Associated With Reduced Antimicrobial Susceptibility to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the United States, Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea, 2018 to 2019.

Background: Jurisdictions participating in Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea (SURRG) implemented specimen collection for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing from a sample of persons of all genders (at multiple anatomic sites) attending sexually transmitted disease clinics and community clinics. We describe the percentage and characteristics of patients whose isolates demonstrated reduced susceptibility (RS) to azithromycin, ceftriaxone, or cefixime.

Methods: We included patients from clinics that participated in SURRG whose isolates underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing by Etest.

Test of Cure Return Rate and Test Positivity, Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea, United States, 2018-2019.

Background: Reduced antibiotic susceptibility (RS) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) may increase treatment failure. Conducting tests of cure (TOC) for patients with RS-GC may facilitate identification of treatment failures.

Methods: We examined 2018 to 2019 data from 8 jurisdictions participating in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Strengthening US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea project.

Enhancing U.S. Local, State, and Federal Preparedness Through Simulated Interactive Tabletop Exercises of a Mock Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea Outbreak, 2018-2019.

Background: Responding effectively to outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea (ARGC) in the future will likely prove challenging. Tabletop exercises (TTXs) may assist local, state, and federal public health officials evaluate existing ARGC outbreak response plans, strengthen preparedness and response effectiveness, and identify critical gaps to address before an outbreak.

Methods: In 2018 to 2019, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with state partners to develop and implement TTXs to simulate a public health emergency involving an ARGC outbreak.

Outcomes of Traditional and Enhanced Gonorrhea Partner Services in the Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea Project, 2017 to 2019.

Introduction: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented Strengthening the US Response to Resistant Gonorrhea (SURRG) to build local detection and response capacity and evaluate responses to antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea outbreaks, including partner services for gonorrhea. We evaluated outcomes of traditional partner services conducted under SURRG, which involved (1) counseling index patients and eliciting sexual partners; (2) interviewing, testing, and treating partners; and (3) providing partner services to partners newly diagnosed with gonorrhea. We also evaluated outcomes of enhanced partner services, which additionally involved interviewing and testing partners of persons who tested negative, and social contacts of index patients and partners.

Host Genetic Risk Factors for Chlamydia trachomatis-Related Infertility in Women.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infection ascending to the upper genital tract can cause infertility. Direct association of genetic variants as contributors is challenging because infertility may not be diagnosed until years after infection. Investigating the intermediate trait of ascension bridges this gap.

Assessment and utility of 2 Chlamydia trachomatis Pgp3 serological assays for seroprevalence studies among women in the United States.

Two plasmid gene protein (Pgp3)-based serological assays, the Pgp3-ELISA and multiplex bead assay (Pgp3-MBA), were compared and used to estimate seropositivity of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among females 14 to 39 years old participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013-2016. Of the 2,201 specimens tested, 502 (29.5%, 95% CI 27.

Exploring and Comparing the Structure of Sexual Networks Affected by Neisseria gonorrhoeae Using Sexual Partner Services Investigation and Genomic Data.

Background: Sexual networks are difficult to construct because of incomplete sexual partner data. The proximity of people within a network may be inferred from genetically similar infections. We explored genomic data combined with partner services investigation (PSI) data to extend our understanding of sexual networks affected by Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG).