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  • Title: Sexually transmitted infections increasing -- 250 million new infections annually.
    Author: World Health Organization WHO. Office of Information.
    Journal: WHO Feature; 1990 Dec; (152):1-6. PubMed ID: 12316765.
    Abstract:
    At present, about 250 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occur in the world each year. This statistics includes 120 million cases of trichomoniasis, 50 million cases of chlamydia, 30 million cases of genital warts, 25 million gonorrhea cases, 20 million cases of genital herpes, 3.5 million syphilis cases, 2.5 million case of hepatitis B virus, 2 million cases of chancroid, and 1 million infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Among the adverse health sequelae the STDs are sterility, infertility, stillbirth, miscarriage, blindness, brain damage, and cancer. The greatest incidence of STDs is in the 20-24-year age group, followed by persons 15-19 years of age. The finding that lesions caused by some STDs can increase the risk of HIV infection by more than 300% has led governments concerned with control of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to take a more aggressive stance toward the prevention and treatment of STDs. There are many obstacles to STD prevention, however, including the development of treatment-resistant strains, inadequate infrastructure for diagnostic testing and penicillin treatment, resistance to changing sexual behavior, increased travel and migration, and the practice of exchanging sex for drugs. Even in some developed countries where the rate of STD infection has finally stabilized, the level remains unacceptably high and STDs cannot be considered as under control. In developing countries, STDs have reached epidemic levels and the number of new infections reported annually shows a pattern of steady increase. The World Health Organization is urging governments to intensify STD prevention activities through funding research, health education, and more accessible clinic services.
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