Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis Bacterial STI’s Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Syphilis

Bacterial STI’s Bacterial STI’s are curable; drugs (antibiotics) can be designed to kill the bacteria because they are a distinct living organism. Bacteria may develop a tolerance to current drugs

How do people get Chlamydia? Most frequently reported bacterial STI in the United States. How do people get Chlamydia? Chlamydia can be transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Chlamydia can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during vaginal childbirth. Symptoms Male Unusual white discharge Painful burning urination Repeated urge to urinate Females Vaginal discharge Pelvic pain Bleeding/ spotting between menstrual cycles

Consequences/ Prevention If left untreated, can lead to reproductive damage and short and long term health problems Prevention Abstinence is the only 100% choice to protect against STI’s. Latex Condoms used correctly and consistently can reduce the risk of transmission.

Gonorrhea The “Clap” The “Drip” Transmission sexual contact through the penis, vagina, mouth , anus. Prevention The surest way to avoid transmission of STDs is to abstain from sexual intercourse Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of gonorrhea. Symptoms Males Creamy discharge Burning urination Constant running discharge Females 80% show no signs Slight burning Frequent urination Consequence Slight chance of infertility

Syphilis Syphilis is passed from person to person through direct contact with a syphilis sore. Sores occur mainly on the external genitals, vagina, anus, or in the rectum. Sores also can occur on the lips and in the mouth. Transmission occurs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Prevention The surest way to avoid transmission of STDs is to abstain from sexual intercourse Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of Syphilis. Symptoms 4 stages Formation of small sores on the genitals Swollen lymph nodes and joint pain. Latent stage- no signs paralysis, numbness, gradual blindness, and dementia. This damage may be serious enough to cause death.

Viral STI’s Viral STI’s are incurable; drugs (antiviral) can be designed to treat the symptoms, but to kill the virus, you would need to kill the host cell. HPV, HSV1 and HSV2, HIV

HPV human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Transmission Genital HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sex. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus to a sex partner. Prevention A vaccine can now protect females from the four types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts condoms may lower the risk of HPV but HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom—so condoms may not fully protect against HPV. Symptoms Genital warts usually appear as small bumps or groups of bumps, usually in the genital area. Warts may appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected person. Or, they may not appear at all. If left untreated, genital warts may go away, remain unchanged, or increase in size or number. They will not turn into cancer. Cervical cancer does not have symptoms until it is quite advanced. For this reason, it is important for women to get screened regularly for cervical cancer.  At least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives.

Genital Herpes Genital Herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2). Most genital herpes is caused by HSV-2. HSV-1 and HSV-2 can be found in and released from the sores that the viruses cause, but they also are released between outbreaks from skin that does not appear to have a sore. Generally, a person can only get HSV-2 infection during sexual contact with someone who has a genital HSV-2 infection. Transmission can occur from an infected partner who does not have a visible sore and may not know that he or she is infected. HSV-1 can cause genital herpes, but it more commonly causes infections of the mouth and lips, so-called “fever blisters.” HSV-1 infection of the genitals can be caused by oral-genital or genital-genital contact with a person who has HSV-1 infection. Genital HSV-1 outbreaks recur less regularly than genital HSV-2 outbreaks.

Symptoms Prevention Genital herpes can cause recurrent painful genital sores in many adults, and herpes infection can be severe in people with suppressed immune systems. Genital HSV can lead to potentially fatal infections in babies. It is important that women avoid contracting herpes during pregnancy because a newly acquired infection during late pregnancy poses a greater risk of transmission to the baby. Herpes may play a role in the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious. The surest way to avoid transmission of STDs is to abstain from sexual intercourse Genital ulcer diseases can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. Correct and consistent use of latex condoms can reduce the risk of genital herpes. Persons with herpes should abstain from sexual activity with uninfected partners when lesions or other symptoms of herpes are present.

HIV Scientists identified a type of chimpanzee in West Africa as the source of HIV infection in humans. The virus most likely jumped to humans when humans hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood. Over several years, the virus slowly spread across Africa and later into other parts of the world HIV was first identified in the United States in 1981 after a number of gay men started getting sick with a rare type of cancer. It took several years for scientists to develop a test for the virus, to understand how HIV was transmitted between humans, and to determine what people could do to protect themselves.

HIV human immunodeficiency virus HIV is different from most other viruses because it attacks the immune system. HIV finds and destroys a type of white blood cell (T cells or CD4 cells) that the immune system must have to fight disease. Normal T-Cell count= 40, 000. When an individual infected with HIV has a T-Cell count fall below 200, that person is classified as having full blown AIDS. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. It can take years for a person infected with HIV

How HIV Is Transmitted HIV is primarily found in the blood, semen, or vaginal fluid, and breast milk of an infected person. Common reasons for the spread of HIV: Having sex (anal, vaginal, or oral) with someone infected with HIV Sharing needles and syringes with someone infected with HIV Being exposed (fetus or infant) to HIV before or during birth or through breast feeding

How HIV is Not Spread HIV is a fragile virus. It cannot live for very long outside the body. As a result, the virus is not transmitted through day-to-day activities such as shaking hands, hugging, or a casual kiss. You cannot become infected from a toilet seat, drinking fountain, doorknob, dishes, drinking glasses, food, or pets. You also cannot get HIV from mosquitoes.

Protect and Prevent To protect yourself, remember these ABCs: A=Abstinence B=Be Faithful C=Condoms