Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. Consider these excerpts from a recent article in the American Medical News:1
"The United States has the world's highest rate of STDs.Sexually transmitted diseases are 100% preventable. As a portal-of-entry health care practitioner, is this something you should be discussing with your patients as part of their efforts to maintain their health?Five of the 10 most common diseases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1995 were sexually transmitted."More than 25 infectious organisms are transmitted sexually. And about 12 million new STD cases a year are reported to the CDC, with a quarter occurring among adolescents.
"'We estimate that one in four Americans has or has had a sexually transmitted disease, and that most of the people who have them are unaware of it.' For example (Edward W. Hook, III, MD, director of the Jefferson County Department of Health's STD control program) said, about 2% of Americans when surveyed will say they've had genital herpes. But when blood tests are performed on a representative sample of Americans, 22% test positive."
Reference
1. STDs: a hidden epidemic. American Medical News. December 9, 1996.
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