The American Social Health Association, Triangle Park, North Carolina, U.S.A., encourages people to learn about STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), one of the nation's most pervasive and urgent health problems, during National STD Awareness Month in April. Through the National STD Hotline at (800) 227-8922, callers can get free, confidential answers to their questions and request free written information on STDs."There is a common misconception that except for HIV/AIDS, STDs are under control in the U.S.A. and no longer pose a threat," said Peggy Clarke, president of The American Social Health Association. "In fact, STDs infect at least 55 million Americans -- one in four adults -- and are spreading at the rate of 12 million new cases each year.
"Perhaps most tragically, young people are hit hardest by STDs," she continued. "Two-thirds of new infections are in people under 25 and one-fourth are in teenagers."
STDs also have a disproportionate impact on women, Clark noted. Because of anatomical differences, women are more susceptible to STD infection, less likely to experience symptoms than men are and more difficult to diagnose.
Viral STDs, for which there is currently no cure, have a lifelong impact on physical and emotional health. An estimated 40 million Americans have genital herpes and 40 million have human papillomavirus (HPV), the cause of genital warts. One million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS, which is usually fatal.
Bacterial STDs can be treated and cured, but are often undetected. Because chlamydia has no symptoms in 75 percent of cases among women and 25 percent of cases among men, it has become the most rapidly advancing STD, with 4 million new infections each year. Gonorrhea, also symptomless in many cases, accounts for 1.1 million new infections annually.
If untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea are particularly destructive to women, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility and ectopic or tubal pregnancies. Some strains of HPV are associated with cervical cancer.
Many STDs place the infected person at high risk for HIV/AIDS. In addition, medical costs associated with STDs in the U.S. total over $8 billion each year.
The American Social Health Association operates:
Materials about herpes, including a free information packet, are available from
- the National STD Hotline (800) 227-8922,
- the National AIDS Hotline, (800) 342-2437, and
- the National Herpes Hotline, (919) 361- 8488.
the Herpes Resource Center, (800) 230-6039.To order free guides to sexual health communication, including a guide for women, "My Health Matters: How to Talk to Your Doctor About Sexual Health," call (800) 972-8500.
Joel R. Cooper
The Medical Reporter/Joel R. Cooper Creative Services
Medical & Healthcare writing, editing and reporting
P.O. Box 370314
Denver, CO 80237
Telephone: (303) 337-6299; FAX: (303) 337- 9201
e-mail: jcooper@medreport.com
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