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General
Statistics - Teens
& STDs - Chlamydia - Herpes
- Gonorrhea - Syphilis - HPV
- PID
- One in five people in
the United States has an STD.
- Two-thirds of all STDs
occur in people 25 years of age or younger.
- Less than half of
adults ages 18 to 44 have ever been tested for an STD other than HIV /
AIDS.
- One in four new STD
infections occur in teenagers.
- Cervical cancer in
women is linked to HPV (genital warts)
- HPV is the most common
STD in the United States. More than 5 million people are infected with
HPV each year.
- At least 15 percent of
all infertile American women are infertile because of tubal damage
caused by PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) the result of an untreated
STD.
- STDs, other than HIV,
cost about $8 billion each year to diagnose and treat
- One in five Americans
have genital herpes, yet at least 80 percent of those with herpes are
unaware they have it
- At least one in four
Americans will contract an STD at some point in their lives.
- Compared to older
adults, adolescents (10- to 19-year-olds) and young adults (20- to
24-year-olds) are at higher risk for acquiring STDs for a number of
reasons: they may be more likely to have multiple (sequential or
concurrent) sexual partners rather than a single, long-term
relationship; they may be more likely to engage in unprotected
intercourse; and they may select partners at higher risk.
- Sexually
active teenagers and young women are especially susceptible to the STD
chlamydia because of the characteristics of the cells that form the
lining of the cervical canal.
- younger women
consistently have higher positivity rates of chlamydia than older
women, even as prevalence declines.
- Among women, 15- to
19-year-olds had the highest rate of gonorrhea in 2000 compared to all
other age categories
- In addition, 20- to
29-year-old women had the highest rates of primary and secondary
syphilis in 2000
- Among men, 20- to
24-year-olds had the highest rate of gonorrhea and fourth highest rate
of primary and secondary syphilis
- In 2000, the highest
age-specific gonorrhea rates among women and the third highest rates
among men were in the 15- to 19-year-old group
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Chlamydia - Chlamydia
is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by Chlamydia
trachomatis, a bacterium, which can damage a woman's reproductive
organs. Because symptoms of chlamydia are mild or absent, serious
complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can
occur "silently" before a woman ever recognizes a problem.
- Chlamydia is the most
commonly reported STD in the United States.
- An estimated 3 million
Americans are infected with chlamydia each year
- Chlamydia is known as
a "silent" disease because three quarters of infected women
and half of infected men have no symptoms.
- Sexually active
teenagers and young women are especially susceptible to chlamydia
bacteria because of the characteristics of the cells that form the
lining of the cervical canal.
- Chlamydia untreated
may result in PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) which causes
infertility, ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain.
- As with other
inflammatory STDs, chlamydial infection can facilitate the
transmission of HIV infection.
- pregnant women
infected with chlamydial infection can pass the infection to their
infants during delivery, in fact Chlamydia is a leading cause of early
infant pneumonia and conjunctivitis (pinkeye) in newborns.
- From 1987 through
2000, the reported rates of chlamydial infection increased from 50.8
to 257.5 cases per 100,000 persons.
The CDC reports that the rise in numbers is most likely because it
is tested for more often and the tests to detect it are more sensitive
than what was previously available.
- For the years
1996-2000, the chlamydia case rates in the Southern region of the
United States were higher than the rates in any other region of the
country.
The CDC reports that the higher rates in this region are because it
is tested for more often and occurs more often. Before 1996, reported
chlamydia rates were highest in the West and Midwest where more
screening programs were in place.
- The highest
age-specific reported rates of chlamydia in 2000 occurred among 15- to
19- year-olds and 20- to 24-year-olds.
- In 2000, the reported
rate of chlamydia among African-American females in the U.S. was nine
times higher than the rate among white U.S. females (1,539.8 and 174.3
per 100,000, respectively)
- The chlamydia rate
among U.S. African-American males was 13 times larger than that among
white males (477.9 and 36.0 per 100,000 respectively).
- Untreated chlamydia in
men typically causes urethral infection. Infection sometimes spreads
to the epididymis (a tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing
pain, fever, and, potentially, infertility.
- Chlamydia can be
easily treated and cured with antibiotics.
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Herpes - A
sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses
type 1 (HSV -1) and type 2 (HSV-2).
- Herpes carries an
increased likelihood of HIV transmission and acquisition.
- There is no treatment
that can cure herpes, but antiviral medications can shorten and
prevent outbreaks during the period of time the person takes the
medication.
- Women who acquire
genital herpes in pregnancy face a potentially fatal neonatal
infection. (Herpes can be life threatening to an infant.)
- A woman who contracts
genital herpes during the third trimester of pregnancy is at a higher
risk of passing herpes to the baby because she has not had time to
build up antibodies to the virus.
- It is rare for infants
to contract herpes.
- Twenty percent to 25
percent of pregnant women have genital herpes.
- About 50 percent to 80
percent of the adult population in the United States has oral herpes.
- Nationwide, 45 million
people ages 12 and older, or one out of five of the total adolescent
and adult population, are infected with HSV-2
- HSV-2 infection is
more common in women (approximately one out of four women) than in men
(almost one out of five).
- Since the late 1970s,
the number of Americans with genital herpes infection has increased
30%. The largest increase is currently occurring in young white teens.
- About one in five
adults in the United States have genital herpes, however at least 80
percent are unaware that they have the virus.
- Most people contract
oral herpes when they are children by receiving a kiss from a friend
or relative.
- Anyone who is sexually
active can contract genital herpes.
- Herpes is transmitted
through direct skin-to-skin contact. This occurs when a contagious
area comes into contact with a mucous membrane, primarily the mouth
and genitals.
- Herpes can be
transmitted when there are no symptoms present.
- There are no
documented cases of a person getting genital herpes from an inanimate
object such as a toilet seat, bathtub or towel. Herpes is a very
fragile virus and does not live long on surfaces.
- Of those who have
symptoms, they may show within days after contracting genital herpes,
or it may take weeks, months or years.
- Condoms do not provide
complete protection because the condom may not cover the herpes sore(s),
and viral shedding may occur anyway.
Top
Gonorrhea
- Gonorrhea is
caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and
multiply easily in mucous membranes of the body. Gonorrhea bacteria can
grow in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the
cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg
canals) in women, and in the urethra (urine canal) in women and men. The
bacteria can also grow in the mouth, throat, and anus.
- Like Chlamydia,
Gonorrhea is a major cause of PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) in the
United States.
- Epidemiologic and
biologic studies provide strong evidence that gonococcal infections
facilitate the transmission of HIV infection (If you have gonorrhea it
is easier to get and to give HIV.)
- Following a 73.9%
decline in the reported rate of gonorrhea from 1975 to 1997, in 1998
the gonorrhea rate increased and has remained essentially unchanged
through 2000
- In 2000, 358,995 cases
of gonorrhea were reported in the United States
- There was no
meaningful change in the reported gonorrhea rate among women between
1999 and 2000 (128.7 and 128.3 cases per 100,000 females
respectively).
- The gonorrhea rate in
men remained the same with 134.7 and 134.6 cases per 100,000 males in
1999 and 2000, respectively.
- Among women in 2000,
15- to 19-year-olds had the highest reported rate of gonorrhea, while
among men, 20- to 24-year-olds had the highest rate
- The percentage of men
with gonorrhea who were reported to have had a gonorrhea infection in
the previous year, as measured by the GISP, decreased from 21.5% in
1992 to 17.2% in 1999 but then rose to 23.6% in 2000
- Ejaculation does not
have to occur for gonorrhea to be transmitted or acquired.
- Gonorrhea infection
can spread to other unlikely parts of the body. For example, a person
can get an eye infection after touching infected genitals and then the
eyes.
- Each year
approximately 650,000 people in the United States are infected with
gonorrhea.
- In women, the early
symptoms of gonorrhea are often mild, and many women who are infected
have no symptoms of infection.
- In the United States,
approximately 75% of all reported gonorrhea is found in younger
persons aged 15 to 29 years.
- In 1999, 77% of the
total number of cases of gonorrhea reported to the CDC occurred among
African Americans.
- Many of the currently
used antibiotics can successfully cure gonorrhea in adolescents and
adults. Penicillin is a common antibiotic that is no longer used to
treat gonorrhea, because many strains of the gonorrhea bacterium have
become resistant to penicillin.
- In men, gonorrhea can
cause epididymitis, a painful condition of the testicles that can
sometimes lead to infertility if left untreated. Without prompt
treatment, gonorrhea can also affect the prostate and can lead to
scarring inside the urethra, making urination difficult.
- If a pregnant woman
has gonorrhea, she may give the infection to her infant as the baby
passes through the birth canal during delivery. This can cause
blindness, joint infection, or a life-threatening blood infection in
the baby.
Top
Syphilis
- Syphilis is a
complex sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Treponema
pallidum. It has often been called "the great imitator"
because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those
of other diseases.
- Syphilis is passed
from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore.
Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the
rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth.
- Syphilis cannot
be spread by toilet seats, door knobs, swimming pools, hot tubs, bath
tubs, shared clothing, or eating utensils.
- The genital sores
caused by syphilis in adults also make it easier to transmit and
acquire HIV infection sexually. There is a 2- to 5-fold increased risk
of acquiring HIV infection when syphilis is present.
- Untreated early
syphilis during pregnancy results in perinatal death in up to 40% of
cases (Depending on how long a pregnant woman has been infected, she
has a good chance of having a stillbirth (syphilitic stillbirth) or of
giving birth to a baby who dies shortly after birth.)
- If acquired during the
four years preceding pregnancy, it may lead to infection of the fetus
in over 70% of cases.
- The rate of primary
and secondary (P&S) syphilis reported in the United States is the
lowest since reporting began in 1941.
- In the United States,
over 35,600 cases of syphilis were reported by health officials in
1999, including 6,650 cases of primary and secondary syphilis (a
decline of 5.4% from 1998) and 556 cases of congenital syphilis in
newborns.
- A single dose of
penicillin, an antibiotic, will cure a person who has had syphilis for
less than a year.
- In 2000, the reported
rate of P&S syphilis among men (2.7 cases per 100,000 males) was
1.5 times greater than the rate among women (1.8 cases per 100,000
females). The overall male to female rate ratio has risen steadily
since 1994 when it was 1.1
- In 2000, the rate of
P&S syphilis reported in African-Americans (12.8 cases per 100,000
persons) was 21 times greater than the rate reported in whites (0.6
case per 100,000 persons). However, this differential was
substantially less than that in 1996, when the rate of P&S
syphilis among African-Americans was 50 times greater than the rate
reported among whites
- Between 1996 and 1999,
the rates of P&S syphilis within racial and ethnic groups
generally declined. Group-specific rates remained relatively constant
between 1999 and 2000, with the exception of the rate among
African-Americans, which decreased from 15.0 to 12.8 cases per 100,000
persons during this period
- Between 1999 and 2000,
the overall rate of congenital syphilis decreased by 7.6% in the
United States, from 14.5 to 13.4 cases per 100,000 live births
- Condoms do not provide
complete protection because syphilis sores can sometimes be on areas
not covered by a condom. This is equally important for other STDs,
including HIV, as well.
Top
Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) - This
refers to a group of more than 100 types of viruses some of which cause
warts or benign tumors and over 30 of which are sexually transmitted.
Top
Pelvic
Inflammatory Disease (PID) - This is a
general term that refers to infection of the fallopian tubes (tubes that
carry eggs from the ovary to the womb) and of other internal reproductive
organs in women.
- Each year in the
United States, more than 1 million women experience an episode of
acute PID
- More than 100,000
women become infertile each year as a result of PID
- a large proportion of
the ectopic pregnancies occurring every year are due to the
consequences of PID
- More than 150 women
die from this infection every year.
- It is estimated that
10% to 80% of women with either gonorrhea or chlamydia will develop
symptomatic PID.
- Symptoms of PID vary
from none to severe.
- PID can be cured with
antibiotics and prompt antibiotic treatment can prevent severe damage
to pelvic organs.
- About one fourth of
women with suspected PID must be hospitalized.
- Women with
STDs--especially gonorrhea and chlamydia--are at increased risk for
developing PID. A prior episode of PID increases the risk of another
episode because the body's defenses are often damaged during the
initial bout of infection.
- Sexually active women
under age 25 are more likely to develop PID than are women older than
25.
- The more sex partners
a woman has, the greater her risk of developing PID. Also, a woman
whose partner has more than one sex partner is at greater risk of
getting PID, because of the potential for more exposures to infectious
agents.
- Women who douche have
a higher risk of developing PID compared with women who do not.
- Women who have an
intrauterine device (IUD) inserted may have a slightly increased risk
of PID compared with women using other contraceptives or no
contraceptive at all. Mutual monogamy is encouraged for women who
choose to use this form of contraception to decrease the risk of
getting PID.
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