Sexually Transmitted Infections: Daybreak Crisis Pregnancy Center

A sexually transmitted disease is a disease that can be contracted through any kind of sexual contact. If you have ever been sexually active in any way (including oral, anal, or vaginal sex, or any genital contact), you could be at risk. STDs can be broken up into 2 categories: viral, and bacterial. A bacterial STD is curable, while a viral STD is not curable. Bacterial STDs include gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis. Viral STDs include herpes, human papilloma virus (HPV), and HIV. If you have ever engaged in any kind of sexual contact, you need to be tested for STDs. It doesn't have to be scary; being tested as soon as possible will ensure that you get the help and treatment you may need.

How long have STIs been around?

A very long time; syphilis even got its name from an ancient story in Greek mythology. Before 1980, the most common STIs were syphilis and gonorrhea. Since 1980, at least 25 new STDs that have been identified, including HIV/AIDS.

Source: Eng TR, Butler WT, eds. The Hidden Epidemic - Confronting Sexually Transmitted Disease. Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1997.

Is there really that big of a risk of me catching an STI?

Yes. Any time you have sexual contact with another person, you are exposed to every sexual partner they've had over the last 10 years. 1 in 4 sexually active teens already have an STI. 1 out of 5 people in the United States over the age of 12 already have genital herpes. STIs accounted for 87 percent of all cases among the top ten most frequently reported infections in the U.S. during 1997. Five of the top 10 reportable infectious diseases in 1997 were either exclusively or largely transmitted during sexual contact, including the top four (chlamydia, gonorrhea, AIDS and syphilis).
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary of Notifiable Disease, US 1998. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999;47(53):1-93.

How many people are infected with an STI?

• In the United States it is estimated that there are more than 68 million current STD infections.
• Each year, 15.3 million new STD infections occur, including over 3 million infections in teens.
• The two most common STDs, herpes and human papilloma virus (HPV), account for 65 of the 68 million current infections.
• It is estimated that 20 percent of all Americans aged 12 and older are infected with genital herpes.

Source: American Social Health Association. Sexually Transmitted Disease in America: How Many Cases and at What Cost? Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation; 1998.

Source: Fleming, D, et al. Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in the United States, 1976-1994. N Engl J Med. 1997;337(16): 1105-1111.

What age group is at greatest risk for acquiring an STI?

Adolescents and young adults (15-24) are the age groups with the greatest risk for acquiring an STI. Approximately 2/3 of all people who get an STI are under 25. The Center for Disease Control states that adolescents and young adults are at greater risk for many reasons, including:

• They may have less immunity (ability to fight a disease) than adults.
• They may be more likely to have more than one sexual partner.
• They may be more likely to engage in unprotected intercourse.
• They may select partners at higher risk.
• Age at start of sexual activity has decreased while age at first marriage has increased, resulting in more sexual intercourse outside of marriage.

Source: Division of STD Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 1999. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), September 2000.

Eng TR, Butler WT, eds. The Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997.

Are teens more at risk for STDs?

Often, yes. Especially teen girls. Before the age of 21, a young woman's cervix is yet not fully mature, leaving it porous and much more open to infection than a mature, adult cervix would be.

• Teen girls have a higher rate of chlamydia, a disease that is a common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease, (PID), which can lead to infertility.
• Among women, gonorrhea rates are highest among teen girls ages 15-19.
• The risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is as much as 10 times greater for 15-year-old females than for 24-year-old females. PID can cause sterility (inability to get pregnant).

Source: Division of STD Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 1999. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), September 2000.

Source: Westrom L. Incidence, Prevalence, and Trends of Acute Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and Its Consequences in Industrialized Countries. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 1980: 138, 880-92.

What is HPV?

• Human papilloma virus (HPV) is a viral, (therefore incurable), STI that can cause genital warts, cervical cancer, throat cancer, and other genital cancers in both men and women.
• HPV is a regionally located skin-to-skin contact virus, meaning that simple genital contact is all it takes to spread this disease. You can be a virgin and still get HPV.
• HPV also causes more than 90% of all cervical cancers in the United States. Cervical cancer takes the lives of about 5,000 American women yearly, and, because the virus is so easily transferred via skin-to-skin contact, condoms provide almost no protection against HPV.
• It is estimated 5.5 million new infections occur each year, with at least 20 million people currently infected.

Source: National Institutes of Health. (April 1-3, 1996). Cervical Cancer: NIH Consensus Development Statement, Online, 43(1), 1-30.

Source: American Social Health Association. (1998, December) Sexually Transmitted Disease in America: How Many Cases and at What Cost? Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation.

What about HIV /AIDS? Am I at risk?

• Richland County has the highest HIV rate in the state of South Carolina.
• An estimated 25% of new HIV infections are found in people under age 22.
• An estimated 50% of all new HIV infections occur among people under 25, with the majority being infected by sexual contact with a person carrying the disease.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV Prevention Strategic Plan Through 2005. September 2000.

Which STIs are stopped by using condoms?

• When used consistently and correctly (i.e. following the directions for condom usage perfectly and using a new condom during each and every sexual encounter), condoms provide about an 85% level of protection against pregnancy and the HIV virus alone. Translation: 15 out of 100 times, (or 1 out of 7), condoms fail against HIV and pregnancy.
• Against chlamydia, condoms offer between a 26% to significant level of protection when used consistently and correctly
• Against gonorrhea, condoms offer between a 62% to significant level of protection when used consistently and correctly
• Against herpes, condoms can offer partial to 92% protection. (Herpes can be transmitted via skin-to-skin contact as well as through oral, anal, and vaginal sex, which makes it difficult to estimate an accurate level of protection)
• Against syphilis, condoms offer between 50%-60% level of protection when used consistently and correctly
• Against human papillomavirus (HPV), (by far the most common sexually transmitted infection), condoms offer limited to no protection, even when used consistently and correctly

Remember, you can be infected with an STD through any type of sexual contact, including but not limited to oral, anal, and vaginal sex, as well as regionally located skin-to-skin contact.

Citation: Homes K, Levine R, Weaver M. Effectiveness of Condoms in Preventing Sexually Transmitted Infections. Bulletin of the World Health Organizations June 2004, Volume 82, Issue 6.

Can STIs be cured?

Bacterial STIs, (such as Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis), can only be cured if you know that you're infected, which is why getting tested for STIs is critical for your safety and health. If left untreated, Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility. Syphilis left untreated can lead to organ damage, brain damage, and death.

Viral STIs, (such as herpes, HIV, and HPV), cannot be cured.

Source: Medical Institute of Sexual Health, "Frequently Asked Questions"

Sex is more than just a physical act. Sex is emotional, mental, and spiritual. In fact, something very interesting happens in a woman’s brain during each and every sexual encounter she experiences. During sexual contact, a hormone called oxytocin floods a woman’s brain; this is the exact same hormone that is released when a woman gives birth to and is nursing a new baby. This hormone causes a woman to bond with and attach to her baby after birth, and to bond with and attach to her partner during a sexual encounter. In a marriage relationship, this is awesome. It helps you to form a powerful bond with your spouse. Outside of marriage, this “oxytocin bonding” can be dangerous, causing you to form an unhealthy attachment to a potentially negative partner. Sex matters. When you choose to engage in sexual activity with another person, you are choosing to share the most intimate, vulnerable parts of yourself with them. Sharing those things with the wrong person can be a potentially devastating experience.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)