STD infections hit another record high in 2017 as 200,000 more people were diagnosed with some form of disease compared to last year.

The rise marks the fourth straight year of increases, and while chlamydia remains the most common infection, gonorrhea and syphillis have seen the most dramatic rises in that time, jumping by 67 per cent and 70 per cent respectively.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the rising numbers are down to people stopping using condoms as fears over HIV ebb.

In total 2.3million Americans were diagnosed with some form of STD in 2017, a new record which marks a fourth straight year of increases

Since 2013, when infection rates first started rising, gonorrhea cases have increased by 67 per cent, even as scientists warn we are running out of antibiotics to treat the disease with

Dr. Gail Bolan, head of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, told NBC: 'Certainly we've known since lifesaving HIV medications became available in the 2000s, things changed.

'Added to that was the very important advance for HIV prevention. But those tools don't prevent STDs.'

The sharp rise in gonorrhea infections is particularly troubling, Dr Bolan said, because the disease is becoming immune to every known antibiotic used to treat it.

Currently two medicines are effective against the bacteria which cases the infection, but more than 4 per cent of samples are now immune to one of those drugs - up from just 1 per cent in 2013, when STD rates began rising.

'We urgently need additional treatment options for gonorrhea,' Dr Bolan added.

David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, told CBS that America is facing a 'crisis' over its infection rates, which are the highest anywhere in the industrialized world.

The CDC warns that increases in STD rates will only continue unless better funding is put toward educating the American public about their transmission.

Syphilis cases have also seen a dramatic rise over the last four years, jumping by almost 70 per cent, as researchers say people have stopped using condoms as HIV fears have ebbed

Chlamydia, gonnorhea and syphilis - the three most common STDs - are all easily treated with antibiotics.

But they are also very easily transmitted during sex if proper protection is not used or used incorrectly.

And too often these infections diseases go undiagnosed and untreated, making them liable to spread quickly through populations.

'Prior studies suggest a range of factors may contribute to STD increases, including socioeconomic factors like poverty, stigma, and discrimination; and drug use,' CDC officials wrote in a press release.

The three, common, curable diseases are in and of themselves not grave heath concerns, but left untreated they can raise risks of much more serious issues, including infertility, ectopic pregnancies, still births and HIV contraction.

Despite the leaps and bounds recently made in preventing the transmission and controlling the viral load of HIV, when it comes to other STDs, 'we are sliding backward,' said Dr Jonathan Mermin, who directs the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.

'It is evident the systems that identify, treat, and ultimately prevent STDs are strained to near-breaking point.'

America has the highest STD infection rate of any industrialized country and is in the midst of a public heath crisis over the diseases, researchers warn

Those 'systems' are probably more accurately described as a loose network of resources that don't reach all populations equally.

Sexual education is only required by law in 13 states and previous studies have found that even for those who regularly see a primary care physician, their doctors often neglect to ask about sexual activity and health.

Without improvements to sexual health education and care, there have been massive surges in gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

Between 2013 and 2017, cases of gonorrhea shot up by 67 percent.

In the same time period, syphilis diagnoses increased by 76 percent.

And chlamydia remained the most commonly-diagnosed STD reported, with 1.7 cases reported. Nearly half of those were in young women, aged just 15 to 24.

In recent years, growing fears over antibiotic-resistance in general have made their way from small circles of epidemiologists to the public consciousness.

The message is clear: it is real, it is fast approaching, and it puts us all in serious danger of an uncontrollable disease outbreak.

Gonorrhea - or rather 'super-gonorhea' - is a top contender to be that outbreak.

Some strains of the bacteria are already untreatable with the standard antibiotic, oral azithromycin.

In 2013, those resistant strains accounted for just one percent of samples tested by the CDC.

In 2017, more than four percent of tested gonorrhea samples were resistant.

'We expect gonorrhea will eventually wear down our last highly effective antibiotic, and additional treatment options are urgently needed,' said Dr Gail Bolan, director of CDC's Division of STD Prevention.

'We can't let our defenses down — we must continue reinforcing efforts to rapidly detect and prevent resistance as long as possible.'

As of yet, the best 'efforts' the CDC can recommend mean doctors need to make STD screening part of routine medical appointments the agency said.