So apparently STD cases in the US have skyrocketed. Go us.
Anyway... In this article the people interviewed discussed the development of superbugs as a contributing factor to this increase, but I also had to wonder if it had anything to do with Sex Ed classes (or the lack thereof) in our country.
I have absolutely nothing against people who espouse the "wait till marriage" approach, but the new emphasis placed on it in Sex Ed classes has me nervous for this exact reason. The school I attended discussed waiting till marriage and nothing but waiting till marriage, using scare tactics to discourage the students. The nurse, a woman who desperately wanted to be helpful and talk to us about the practical side of being sexually active, was unable to. When trying to convince an abstinence-only friend that sexually active, unmarried people are in fact not disease riddled heathens, he seemed genuinely confused when I pointed out that people can and do get tested for such things. It was almost as if he had never heard of the concept before.
I guess I just find this pervasive ignorance to me somewhat stunning, and I was curious about your thoughts on why there's been such an upward shot in STD cases in the United States.
(A little torn between posting this here or in the Sexual Health section. Feel free to move it -- not that you need my permission. )
[ 11-13-2007, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Emily 249 ]
Posts: 39 | From: United States | Registered: May 2006
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Penicillin (and similar) drugs haven't been used for treating Chlamydia (CT) or gonorrhea (GC) in a long time. CT and GC have been resistant to those for a VERY long time. It's only recently that fluoroquinolone-resistant CT and GC have emerged as a problem. Here in North America, they comprise less than 1 percent of cases. However, in Asia, the rates are as high as 15% of all CT and GC infection.
People who go to Asia for sex-tours are the biggest instigators of clusters of drug-resistant CT and GC in the West. It's a personal peeve of mine, but I really resent people who participate in sex tourism because they perpetuate cycles of poverty, abuse, misogyny and disease in Asia (particularly Thailand, where my family is from). That be messin' wid my peepz, yo.
but I digress...
One of the major reasons for the uptick in reported CT and GC infections is that screening guidelines have changed in the past three years. In accordance with current recommendations, clinicians are asking women ages 15 to 25 if they want a CT and GC swab done in tandem with their Pap smears. Most women say yes to this (hey, if you're swabbing down there, might as well swab one more, right?), and as a result, more CT and GC is being detected in the community.
So it's not necessarily an increase in new infections. It may just be that more infections are being detected (and treated!), and that's good news for women.
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