Facts About Sexually Transmitted Diseases

What are sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)?

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among
the most common infectious diseases in the
United States today. More than 20 STDs have
been identified and they affect an estimated 19
million men and women in this country each year.
The annual treatment cost of STDs in the United
States is estimated to be in excess of $14 billion.

How do STDs affect women?

Health problems caused by STDs tend to be more
severe and more frequent for women than for
men, in part because for women there are often
no visible symptoms, so they do not seek care
until serious problems have developed.
Some STDs can spread into the uterus (womb)
and fallopian tubes to cause pelvic inflammatory
disease (PID), which is a cause of both infertility
and ectopic (tubal) pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy
can be fatal. STDs in women also may be
associated with cervical cancer. Human
papillomavirus infection (HPV) can cause genital
warts and cervical and other genital cancers.
STDs can be passed from a mother to her baby
before, during or immediately after birth. Some of
these newborn infections can be cured easily, but
others may cause a baby to be permanently
disabled or even die.

What are the most common types of STDs?

Chlamydial Infection

This infection is the most common of all bacterial
STDs, with an estimated 2.8 million new cases
occurring each year. Chlamydial infection may
cause an abnormal vaginal discharge and burning
during urination. In women, untreated chlamydial
infection may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease
(PID), one of the most common causes of ectopic
pregnancy and infertility in women. Many people
with chlamydial infection, however, have few or
no symptoms of infection; it often goes
undiagnosed and untreated. Once diagnosed with
chlamydial infection, a person can be treated with
an antibiotic.

Genital Herpes

Genital herpes affects at least 45 million
Americans ages 12 and older. Approximately
500,000 new cases of this incurable viral infection
develop annually. Herpes infections are caused by
the herpes simplex viruses type 1 and type 2.
Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. Most
individuals have no or only minimal signs or
symptoms. When signs do occur, they typically
appear as one or more blisters on or around the
genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving
tender sores that may take two to four weeks to
heal the first time they occur. Typically, another
outbreak can appear weeks or months after the
first, but it almost always is less severe and
shorter. The virus remains in the body for life and
the lesions may recur from time to time. Severe
or frequently recurrent genital herpes is treated
with one of several antiviral drugs that are
available by prescription. These drugs help
control the symptoms, but do not eliminate the
herpes virus from the body. Suppressive antiviral
therapy can be used to prevent recurrences and
perhaps transmission. Women who acquire
genital herpes can transmit the virus to their
babies during delivery. Untreated HSV infection in
newborns can result in mental retardation and
death.

Genital Warts

Genital warts (also called venereal warts or
condylomata acuminata) are caused by the
human papillomavirus, a virus related to the one
that causes common skin warts. Certain high-risk
types of HPV can cause cervical cancer and other
genital cancers, but these are different from the
types that cause genital warts. Genital warts
usually first appear as small, hard painless bumps
in the vaginal area or around the anus. If
untreated, they may grow and develop a fleshy,
cauliflower-like appearance. There is a very low
risk that a pregnant woman with genital warts
can pass HPV to her baby. In the rare cases
where HPV is passed, the baby could develop
warts in the throat or voice box. Genital warts
infect between 500,000 to 1 million Americans
each year. They are usually removed by freezing,
burning or laser treatment. If the warts are very
large, they can be removed by surgery. If they
recur, they may be treated with injections of a
type of interferon. Although treatments may get
rid of warts, they do not get rid of HPV, which
can still be passed on to sex partners.

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported
infectious disease in the United States. The CDC
estimates that more than 700,000 persons in this
country get new gonorrheal infections each year;
only about half of these infections are reported to
the CDC. Most women who are infected have no
symptoms. Even when a woman has symptoms,
they can be so non-specific as to be mistaken for
a bladder or vaginal infection. The most common
symptoms of gonorrhea are a vaginal discharge
or vaginal bleeding between periods. Untreated
cases can lead to serious complications, including
PID, ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Historically,
penicillin has been used to treat gonorrhea, but in
the last decade resistance to penicillin has
emerged. New antibiotics or combinations of
drugs must be used to treat these resistant
strains.

Syphilis

While the rate of primary and secondary (P&S)
syphilis – the most infectious stages of the
disease – reached an all-time low in 2000, it has
increased dramatically in recent years. Between
2004 and 2005, the number of reported P&S
syphilis cases in the United States increased from
7,980 to 8,724. The overall increase in syphilis
cases was driven primarily by increases among
males. However, troubling trends also were seen
among females, as the rate of reported cases
among females increased for the first time in
more than 10 years. Syphilis is easily curable in
its early stages. The initial symptom is a chancre,
a painless open sore that usually appears around
or in the vagina. If untreated, it can lead to
serious long-term complications, including
problems of the heart and central nervous system,
organ damage and even death. Congenital
syphilis can cause stillbirth, death soon after
birth, and physical deformity and neurological
complications in children who survive. The full
course of the disease can take years. Penicillin
remains the most effective drug in the treatment
of syphilis.