Overview of Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)
A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a disease caused by a pathogen (e.g., virus, bacterium, parasite, fungus) that is spread from person to person primarily through sexual contact. STDs can be painful, irritating, debilitating, and life threatening. More than twenty sexually transmitted diseases have been identified.
Incidence and Prevalence of STDs
STDs occur most commonly in sexually active teenagers and young adults, especially those with multiple sex partners. An estimated 200 to 400 million people worldwide are infected—representing men and women of all economic classes.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the United States more than 13 million people are infected each year and more than 65 million have an incurable STD. Generally, STD incidence has declined in the United States over the past 15 years, although rates among certain populations, including men who have sex with men, have increased.
In January 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported increased rates of the sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia and syphilis in the United States. According to the CDC, rates of gonorrhea infection have remained stable in recent years. In 2007, more than 1 million new cases of chlamydia, about 356,000 new cases of gonorrhea, and more than 11,000 new cases of syphilis were reported. Chlamydia often is asymptomatic (i.e., does not cause symptoms) and it is estimated that as many as 2.8 million people are infected with this disease each year in the United States. Improvements in STD screening are believed to be responsible for the recent increase in reported STD infection.
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Original Date of Publication: 10 Jun 1998
Reviewed by: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D.
Last Reviewed: 04 Dec 2007
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