1 in 4 Teenage Girls Has an STD

[The Vortex Empire]

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CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.

A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls -- nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections.

For many, the numbers most likely seem "overwhelming because you're talking about nearly half of the sexually experienced teens at any one time having evidence of an STD," said Dr. Margaret Blythe, an adolescent medicine specialist at Indiana University School of Medicine and head of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on adolescence.

But the study highlights what many doctors who treat teens see every day, Blythe said.

Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC's division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said the data, from 2003-04, probably reflect current rates of infection.

"High STD rates among young women, particularly African-American young women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk," Douglas said.

The CDC's Dr. Kevin Fenton said given that STDs can cause infertility and cervical cancer in women, "screening, vaccination and other prevention strategies for sexually active women are among our highest public health priorities."

The study by CDC researcher Dr. Sara Forhan is an analysis of nationally representative data on 838 girls who participated in a 2003-04 government health survey. Teens were tested for four infections: human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and affected 18 percent of girls studied; chlamydia, which affected 4 percent; trichomoniasis, 2.5 percent; and herpes simplex virus, 2 percent.

Blythe said the results are similar to previous studies examining rates of those diseases individually.

The results were prepared for release Tuesday at a CDC conference in Chicago on preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

HPV can cause genital warts but often has no symptoms. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains recently became available, but Douglas said it likely has not yet had much impact on HPV prevalence rates in teen girls.

Chlamydia and trichomoniasis can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25. It also recommends the three-dose HPV vaccine for girls aged 11-12 years, and catch-up shots for females aged 13 to 26.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has similar recommendations.

Douglas said screening tests are underused in part because many teens don't think they're at risk, but also, some doctors mistakenly think, '"Sexually transmitted diseases don't happen to the kinds of patients I see."'

Blythe said some doctors also are reluctant to discuss STDs with teen patients or offer screening because of confidentiality concerns, knowing parents would have to be told of the results.

The American Academy of Pediatrics supports confidential teen screening, she said.

Why am I not surprised.

[Balrog]

Remember kids, when you're ready to hump wrap your stump.

One certainly hopes that proper sex education will help drive down these numbers, it's just a shame that most kids aren't getting more then "don't have sex! We mean it!"

[Superman]

I remember when I first heard this statistic about a year or two ago in a pathology class. I was actually taught that about half of all sexually active women carry HPV, and this study basically confirms that.

Good times.

[Shinova]

Good lord, is it even possible to sleep with ANYONE and not get something in return!?!??

[Superman]

Good lord, is it even possible to sleep with ANYONE and not get something in return!?!??

Possible and probable, but why roll those dice? Condoms are readily available.

[Terralthra]

Yes, now, if only condoms actually reliably prevented transmission of HPV or HSV....

[Shinova]

And what if you get married some day? Yikes.

[Aaron]

Yes, now, if only condoms actually reliably prevented transmission of HPV or HSV....

Well thankfully there is an immunization for HPV but the climate in the US isn't really friendly to it. Up here there giving it out in the schools at 12.

[ArmorPierce]

Remember kids, when you're ready to hump wrap your stump.

One certainly hopes that proper sex education will help drive down these numbers, it's just a shame that most kids aren't getting more then "don't have sex! We mean it!"

Hpv can and is readily transmitted even while wearing a condom.

[ArmorPierce]

Good lord, is it even possible to sleep with ANYONE and not get something in return!?!??

Possible and probable, but why roll those dice? Condoms are readily available.

I've seen statistics saying that if you've have had 3-4 sexual partners, it is virtually certain that you have contracted hpv.

[Gullible Jones]

I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it.

BTW, does this survey include oral HSV-1 as an STD? Because that might drive the numbers up quite a bit.

[Superman]

Good lord, is it even possible to sleep with ANYONE and not get something in return!?!??

Possible and probable, but why roll those dice? Condoms are readily available.

I've seen statistics saying that if you've have had 3-4 sexual partners, it is virtually certain that you have contracted hpv.

Right. I was taught that too.

Armor, wearing a condom can reliably reduce the chances of acquiring HPV by up to 70%. Part of the study I read also stated that none of the women whose partners always used condoms developed dangerous cervical lesions.

[Erik von Nein]

[quote="Gullible Jones"]I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it./quote]

Why would they? To my knowledge, HPV is only really dangerous for women. It's wasted time and money to give it to men, if that's the case. It's not like there's an infininte amount of this vaccine, anyway.

[Shinova]

To prevent men from catching the diesease and spreading it to women.

[Molyneux]

I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it./quote]

Why would they? To my knowledge, HPV is only really dangerous for women. It's wasted time and money to give it to men, if that's the case. It's not like there's an infininte amount of this vaccine, anyway.

Well, I for one would like to not have to risk genital fucking warts, which HPV causes. And I'd love to not have to worry about passing it on to women.

I do seem to recall hearing that the vaccine was much more effective at preventing transmission of HPV in women than men, though.

[Knife]

I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it.

BTW, does this survey include oral HSV-1 as an STD? Because that might drive the numbers up quite a bit.

No, but they list HSV 2 which is on the rise too with oral sex putting on peoples mouths instead of genitles. A lot of sores these days on the upside are HSV 2's and a lot of sores down there are HSV 1's. They've flipped flopped.

[darthbob88]

Wikipedia knows nothing and Google is unreliable for finding TLAs, so I assume HSV == Herpes Simplex Virus?

[Terralthra]

I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it.

Why would they? To my knowledge, HPV is only really dangerous for women. It's wasted time and money to give it to men, if that's the case. It's not like there's an infininte amount of this vaccine, anyway.

Well, I for one would like to not have to risk genital fucking warts, which HPV causes. And I'd love to not have to worry about passing it on to women.

I do seem to recall hearing that the vaccine was much more effective at preventing transmission of HPV in women than men, though.

The vaccine offered doesn't actually prevent the strains of HPV that cause genital warts. The strains it prevents are those linked to cervical cancer. There is little to no crossover between the various strains that cause warts and the strains that are correlated with cervical cancer.

[Gullible Jones]

Nonetheless, giving the vaccine to men would help curtail the virus's spread, and would probably be worth it seeing as condoms are ineffective fully 30% of the time.

[Erik von Nein]

Nonetheless, giving the vaccine to men would help curtail the virus's spread, and would probably be worth it seeing as condoms are ineffective fully 30% of the time.

It would, but it would be just as effective to give it to women, since they're the ones most at risk. Again, spreading your resources to those who most need it. Not unless you think that men are more likely to spread it around then women. If there's evidence to back that up, I can agree with that.

[Broomstick]

I wonder if they even offer the HPV vaccine for men. They should, just to prevent the virus from spreading, but for some reason nobody seems keen on it./quote]

Why would they? To my knowledge, HPV is only really dangerous for women. It's wasted time and money to give it to men, if that's the case. It's not like there's an infininte amount of this vaccine, anyway.

It's worth it to give it to the men because, first of all, men do get the infection and pass it on to their partners, whether or male or female. Immunizing the men breaks that chain. Second, men can also come down with HPV induced cancer, but since it would most commonly be on the penis it would be an easily visible lesion and thus would be more likely to be spotted early. If not dealt with early, however, it certainly induce cancer in men just as it does in women.

The choice was made to start with the girls first because in them the infection is not easily visible, nor is cervical cancer, and thus more easily missed until the situation is life-threatening. Personally, I think next in line should be homosexual boys, as HPV can infect the lower rectum during anal sex where, again, it would not be readily visible. Of course, that would be politcal dynamite, so the compromise of "vaccinate boys to break the chain of transmission and prevent unsightly penile warts" would most likely have the same effect.

[Broomstick]

Wikipedia knows nothing and Google is unreliable for finding TLAs, so I assume HSV == Herpes Simplex Virus?

Yes.

Of course, anyone who has ever had a cold sore has an HSV virus in their system, and it's possible to transmit it without actually having sex although sex is obviously a pretty effective means of travel for the virus. It's also possible to have it even if you've never shown the least symptom - combating suddenly appearing HSV infections post-organ transplant is one of the little complications transplantation is prone to as immune suppression will sometimes suddenly reveal infections that, up until then, were hidden.

[Broomstick]

It would, but it would be just as effective to give it to women, since they're the ones most at risk. Again, spreading your resources to those who most need it. Not unless you think that men are more likely to spread it around then women. If there's evidence to back that up, I can agree with that.

Since the vast majority of women with the infection are heterosexual I don't see where else they could be picking up this infection other than men, do you?

When the female population is reasonably well protected then there should be enough vaccine to give to both boys and girls as they reach an appropriate age.

[Molyneux]

Wikipedia knows nothing and Google is unreliable for finding TLAs, so I assume HSV == Herpes Simplex Virus?

Yes.

Of course, anyone who has ever had a cold sore has an HSV virus in their system, and it's possible to transmit it without actually having sex although sex is obviously a pretty effective means of travel for the virus. It's also possible to have it even if you've never shown the least symptom - combating suddenly appearing HSV infections post-organ transplant is one of the little complications transplantation is prone to as immune suppression will sometimes suddenly reveal infections that, up until then, were hidden.

I seem to recall hearing that fully half to two-thirds of the world's population carries HSV in the form of cold sores. Nasty little bug, I hope we find some way of keeping it from going back into hiding sometime within the next five years.

[His Divine Shadow]

Does the vaccine protect against all kinds of herpes?