STD Rates Paint a Mixed Picture

Herpes infections are down, but syphilis is on increase

SATURDAY, April 24, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Every year, doctors in the United States diagnose roughly 15 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Some of these, such as HIV and hepatitis C, are life-threatening. Others, such as herpes, may not be deadly, but they never go away.

With April designated National STD Awareness Month, new government statistics show mixed progress in combating sexually transmitted diseases.

The number of Americans with genital herpes is falling, down 17 percent between 1988 and 2000, to 17.6 percent of adults, according to data presented last month at the 2004 National STD Prevention Conference in Philadelphia.

However, syphilis rates have risen in recent years. In 2003, nearly 7,100 Americans were confirmed to have the disease, up from 6,862 in 2002. That marks the third consecutive annual increase, officials say. All of the surge is attributable to more syphilis in men, particularly men who have sex with men.

Meanwhile, a recent study out of Colorado found that 30 percent of women, and nearly 19 percent of men, were infected with a strain of human papillomavirus known to cause cervical cancer.

"STDs can cause serious medical consequences, including infertility, transmission to newborns, neurologic damage and increased risk of HIV transmission," says Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, a sex infection expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "While we acknowledge the successful declines in herpes, overall STD rates in the U.S. remain alarmingly high."

The best way to avoid a sexually transmitted disease is "to abstain from sexual intercourse, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected," the CDC's Web site states.

For everyone else, however, latex condoms can thwart the transmission of STDs, as long as they're used correctly, the agency says.

Condoms can often block the spread of HIV, as well as diseases such as gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, chlamydia (the most common bacterial STD in this country), genital herpes, syphilis and chancroid. "While the effect of condoms in preventing human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is unknown, condom use has been associated with a lower rate of cervical cancer, an HPV-associated disease," the CDC says.

Charles Ebel, senior director for program development at the American Social Health Association, says condoms may not be perfect protection for all sex infections, but they're "much better than nothing."

In fact, when used properly condoms do block virtually all HIV and gonorrhea, and possibly chlamydia, Ebel says. Recent data suggest they reduce the risk of herpes by about 50 percent, he says. That's significant, he adds, because 40 million to 50 million Americans have the virus that causes genital herpes, though only between 20 percent and 30 percent know they're infected.

"Within the context of any given partnership, condom use makes a huge difference in the protection against the most life-changing STD -- HIV -- and in terms of the most easily transmitted -- gonorrhea," he says.

Sexually active people can also cut their risk of catching an STD by minimizing their number of partners. Studies have shown that people who have sex with many others are at significantly higher risk of STDs, condom use notwithstanding. "Even if you use condoms the partner thing is a big part of the equation," Ebel says.

Chlamydia, which affects an estimated 3 million Americans, is a particular concern for young women in whom an untreated infection can lead to sterility. Caused by the germ Chlamydia trachomatis, the illness can be easily controlled with antibiotics. However, 75 percent of infected females, and half of males, don't have symptoms. And left untreated, chlamydia can cause serious problems, including inflamed testes in males and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in females.

Pelvic inflammatory disease is a leading cause of female sterility. Each year, more than a million American women suffer a bout of acute PID, health officials say, and more than 100,000 become infertile as a result. PID and its complications are linked to more than 150 deaths a year in this country.

The American Social Health Association offers the following tips for minimizing the risk of chlamydia:

  • Limit your sex partners. Doing so will reduce your chances of being exposed to the infection, as well as other STDs.
  • Always use barrier contraceptives -- condoms, diaphragms and even vaginal spermicides.
  • If you're sexually active, get tested for chlamydia at least once a year. If you have the disease, make sure your sex partners are tested for it, too.
  • If you contract chlamydia, be sure to get tested for other STDs, such as gonorrhea and HIV, which frequently accompany the infection. Abstain from sex until your doctor says it's safe to resume intercourse.

More information

For more on preventing STDs visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the American Social Health Association.

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