Knox County health officials are sounding the alarm after spotting a worrying local shift in sexually transmitted infections. In a post on Tuesday tied to STI Awareness Week, the Knox County Health Department warned that reported syphilis and HIV infections are climbing, even as chlamydia and gonorrhea have trended down. The agency flagged a particularly sharp rise in congenital syphilis among infants and stressed that routine screening and early treatment can head off serious, long-term health problems. County clinics, the post noted, offer local testing, prevention services, and vaccination options.
What the health department posted
According to the post from the Knox County Health Department, reported syphilis cases in Knox County have "more than doubled" compared with 2020. The agency also reported that congenital syphilis is increasing in infants and that local HIV case counts have risen.
On the flip side, the health department noted that reported chlamydia cases decreased from 2020 through 2025, while gonorrhea reports fell by almost 50 percent over the same stretch. The post added that injection drug use is contributing to local HIV transmission and urged residents to use condoms and consider biomedical prevention options such as PrEP, PEP, and doxy-PEP. The county highlighted its CDC Clinic as a walk-in testing site and provided a contact number, 865-215-5370, for people who want more information.
Statewide trends mirror the local picture
The pattern in Knox County is not happening in isolation. A report from the Tennessee Department of Health shows that syphilis and congenital syphilis climbed markedly between 2019 and 2023, while reported chlamydia and gonorrhea counts fell over that period.
State health officials documented a five-fold increase in congenital syphilis cases from 2019 to 2023 and found that syphilis among women of reproductive age rose substantially. Public-health experts say those trends raise the stakes for pregnant people and newborns, since infection during pregnancy can have severe consequences.
Prevention, medicines and vaccines
County officials are urging residents to lean on a full toolkit of prevention measures, including condoms, routine screening, vaccination, HIV PrEP and PEP, and doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis for people who are eligible. These tools are meant to work together to reduce both overall infection rates and risks to infants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released clinical guidance on doxy-PEP for selected populations and emphasizes pairing biomedical prevention with regular STI screening. CDC guidance also outlines the serious dangers congenital syphilis can pose to infants. Public-health recommendations continue to stress timely vaccination for HPV and hepatitis B, along with prompt clinical follow-up after possible exposures or positive test results, to prevent complications from developing.
Where to go for testing
For people who want to get checked out, Knox County’s CDC Clinic at 140 Dameron Ave is listed as a walk-in site for STI testing and treatment. The clinic can be reached at 865-215-5370, and callers are encouraged to confirm current hours before heading over. Local directory listings reflect the same address and phone number, and the county’s post urges anyone with symptoms or recent exposures not to wait to get evaluated.
