STDs on the Rise in America

Today, it is very important that we protect ourselves against any disease possible, especially the ones that can be prevented. However, in spite of our prevention efforts, new cases of some of the most common sexually transmitting diseases (STDs) are still on the rise.

The new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2007,” stated that minorities and women in particular are much more likely to have STDs. Experts are not surprised by this fact, as previous studies on STDs have also shown that minorities and women bear the greatest burden of STDs. The age of those that are affected by the STDs hasn’t changed much either. Approximately 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur annually, almost half of those affected are between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.

The Centers for Disease Control began a national syphilis elimination program during the late 1990s, which was targeted at African-American heterosexuals, especially mothers and their babies. As a result of this program, the condition was nearly eradicated as an ongoing health problem for people in the United States. Dr. John Douglas, who is the director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, stated that within the last two years, the trend has reversed. He also said, “The success we’ve been experiencing from a number of years in African-American heterosexual populations, particularly women, is beginning to erode.”

Syphilis started to resurface as a danger in 2001, and the cases went up by 15.2 percent between the years 2006 and 2007. The reported cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia together surpassed 1.4 million in the year 2007. Both of these sexually transmitted diseases can cause infertility when left untreated. The CDC will be addressing the rates of HIV in the United States in a later report.

The report said that there were a record number of chlamydia cases reported nationally this year. Douglas noted that a major strategy to help in prevention of these diseases is detecting the infection before it spreads, so that each case in an opportunity to prevent the ongoing transmission. Douglas said that chlamydia is considered to be the most common reported STD and infectious disease.

Since the early 1980s, there has been a dramatic downturn in the cases of gonorrhea, but within the last ten years, the rates have leveled off, especially for the African-American populations. The CDC is currently looking into a number of ways that we can create awareness of the problem.

STDs not only affect the individuals’ health, but also the economy’s pocket. The CDC said that these conditions cost the U.S. healthy care system approximately $15.3 billion dollars every year.

The new report reflects what Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, who is the assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and the medical director for the Center for Excellence in Sexual Health, sees everyday in the clinics where she works. Dr. Wimberly said that in her 14 years of practicing, she has been diagnosing many more cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis.

Based on her observations and the report, it is safe to say that some of the efforts for prevention are not working. New and innovative methods will be required to get through to the younger generation, for whom the world wide web and text messaging are very important parts of their every day life.

Many people hold the misconception that STDs usually come along with visible signs such as a rash or bumps and irregular discharge, but most of the STDs do not present symptoms and you may never know you have it.

Dr. Wimberly said, “That’s how STDs are so easily spread. It’s not people who know that they have gonorrhea and who go out say, ‘I’m going to spread it to all these people.’ It’s the people who don’t even know, who maybe don’t get checked up regularly.”

It is very important to be screened at lease one time per year, even twice a year for the younger generation. Wimberly offers to test everyone who comes into her office for STDs, even if they do know show any symptoms or came to see her for another reason, if they have not been tested within the last six months. However, Douglas said that not all physicians are so conscientious about the testing for STDs.

Particularly when it comes to the non-minority populations, physicians are inclined to think that the young women sitting in from of them look pretty healthy, and they look pretty respectable so they wouldn’t have a sexually transmitted disease, would they?  Most of the time we simply miss those screening opportunities.

Other physicians just simply don’t want to approach the subject of sexual relations with their adolescent female patients. There is also the problem with getting access to health care, because some women do not have physicians for this very reason.

The current prevention efforts include screening programs, promoting awareness of STDs, personal protective behaviors such as limiting the number of sexual partners and using condoms for protection. A key area that needs work is being able to have normal conversations about sexual health and STDs.

Douglas said, “If the parents assume that’s the doctor’s business, or the teacher’s business, and don’t roll up their sleeves and get in there themselves, and if our schools aren’t giving comprehensive education, an dif our clergy and other community leaders who are interested in youth well-being aren’t including sexual health on the agenda, we’re going to create missed opportunities.”