A closer look at the most common STDs
The following is a compilation of facts and figures for the most common sexually transmitted diseases. The sources for these statistics are: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): What You Need to Know, from the American Social Health Association (ASHA); a glossary of terms on the ASHA Web site (www.ashastd.org); and the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), www.cdc.gov.
AIDS: Approximately 70,000 new cases of AIDS are diagnosed each year. AIDS is the late stage of the illness triggered by infection with HIV. According to the official definition published by the CDC, a person receives an AIDS diagnosis when or she has a CD4 (helper T-cell) count of less than 200 and/or certain opportunistic infections common with advanced immune deficiency.
Chlamydia: An estimated 4 million new cases of chlamydia occur each year. Approximately 75% of the women and 50% of the men who are infected have no symptoms. When diagnosed, chlamydia can be easily treated and cured. Untreated, chlamydia can cause severe, costly reproductive and other health problems, including both short- and long-term consequences, such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is the critical link to infertility, and potentially fatal tubal pregnancy.
Genital herpes: There are an estimated 200,000-500,000 new cases of genital herpes each year; it is caused by the herpes simplex virus. HSV type 1 commonly causes fever blisters on the mouth or face, while HSV type 2 typically affects the genital area, although both viral types can cause either. Most of the time these viruses are inactive, or "silent," and cause no symptoms, but some infected people have "outbreaks" of blisters and ulcers. Once infected, people remain infected for life. Genital herpes frequently causes psychological distress among people who know they are infected.
Gonorrhea: There are an estimated 800,000 new cases each year. When symptoms are present, they are similar to those of chlamydia infection. They usually appear two to five days after sex with an infected partner. Also like chlamydia, gonorrhea may cause pelvic inflammatory disease if left untreated.
Hepatitis B: There are an estimated 53,000 new cases each year, and 200,000 Americans are affected annually. This virus is found in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and saliva and is highly contagious. Many infected people have no symptoms; others experience fever, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Hepatitis B may damage the liver, putting people at risk for cirrhosis and liver cancer. Most infections clear up by themselves within four to eight weeks, but 10% of people with hepatitis B become chronically infected.
HPV: One of the most common STDs, HPV infects up to 1 million people each year and an estimated 40 million Americans are infected. Certain types of HPV cause warts on the hands or feet, while others can cause genital warts. HPV is usually spread by direct, skin-to-skin contact during sex.
Syphilis: Approximately 104,000 new cases are identified each year. The earliest symptoms, which include a painless genital sore, appear 10 days to three weeks after sex with an infected partner. If left untreated, syphilis lapses into the latent stage, during which it is not contagious and has no symptoms. About one-third of the people who reach this stage will develop severe complications of late syphilis, which can result in mental illness, blindness, heart disease, and death.
Trichomoniasis: There are 3 million estimated new cases each year. When symptomatic, the infection results in vaginitis in women and urethritis in men. Many infected people, however, remain asymptomatic.
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