Chlamydia Incidence Report
The U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention reports “as many as one in four U.S. Teenage girls have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD), many infected soon after their first sexual encounter.” The report is published in the December print issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The study author, Dr. Sami L. Gottlieb, and his team, collected data on 838 girls aged 14 to 19. The teens provided samples to the team and the researchers looked for specific sexually transmitted diseases, such as Chlamydia, HPV (human papillomavirus), HSV-2 (Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2), Gonorrhea, and Trichomonas Vaginalis.
Among girls who were sexually experienced, 37.7 percent had an STD and 24.1 percent of the girls had one of the studied diseases. The most common infection was HPV at 18.3 percent and Chlamydia at 3.9 percent. The report also shows that 19.2 percent of the teens developed an STD in the year after having their first sexual encounter and with only one sex partners.
Disease and Symptoms
Chlamydia – abnormal vaginal discharge, burning sensation when urinating, lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse
HPV – has no symptoms, unless it is a type that causes genital warts
HSV-2 – genital sores, and on occasion, sores in the vaginal area, buttocks, or thighs
Gonorrhea – vaginal discharge and painful or difficult urination
Trichomonas Vaginalis – vaginal discharge with a strong odor, itching and irritation of the genital area
Dr. David L. Katz, Director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, suggests "early access to comprehensive sex education and barrier contraceptives."
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