Data Connections Activity

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Major Sexually Transmitted Infections: Some Basics

This activity examines the causes, symptoms, and rates of several different types of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

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Major Sexually Transmitted Infections: Some Basics

If left untreated, the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) described in the diagram below may lead to serious reproductive and other health problems, or even, as with HIV/AIDS and syphilis, to death. STIs can be avoided by consistently using condoms, having sex monogamously with an uninfected partner, or abstaining from sex—oral, anal, and genital.

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Learn More About Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

photo of HIV and AIDS spelled out with letter tiles
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 20 million new sexually transmitted infections occur every year in this country, half among young people ages 15–24. Why do sexually active teenagers have higher rates of the most common STIs than do people in other age groups? (You may wish to explore CDC Atlas, which shows geographic patterns and time trends of several different STIs.)

Your answer may reference the fact that fully developed women have more vaginal secretions, which offer some protection against STIs, than do adolescent girls. Or, you might say that teens are less likely to notify their partners of or seek treatment for an STI until the symptoms become painful. Or, your answer may be more speculative: For example, you might suggest that sexually active teens are more careful about avoiding conception than protecting themselves from STIs.

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REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016b, October). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2015. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, October 15). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/default.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, April 12). Statistics overview: HIV surveillance report. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/index.html

McQuillan, Geraldine; Kruszon-Moran, Deanna; Flagg, Elaine W. & Paulose-Ram, Ryne. (2018, February). Prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in persons aged 14–49: United States, 2015–2016. NCHS Data Brief, 304. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.