Sexually Transmitted Infections News

Syphilis rates drop, but STDs still big problem

The number of Americans newly infected with syphilis has fallen for the first time in a decade, but sexually transmitted diseases continue to take a staggering toll on the United States, with 19 million new infections each year…    

Double duty: Anti-HIV topical gel also protects against herpes virus

HIV infection is commonly associated with other sexual infections, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV). Infection with HSV facilitates the risk of HIV infection and negatively impacts the clinical course of HIV disease. Therefore, it would be highly…    

Girls’ HPV vaccination rates falling short

Close to half of U.S. girls ages 13 and 17 have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), but there is still a way to go to improve those numbers, according to researchers…    

Pediatricians in Appalachia less likely to recommend HPV vaccine

Pediatricians in Appalachia are less likely than doctors in other areas to encourage parents to have their children receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, according to a new study.

The results are alarming because HPV infection…    

Take-home chlamydia tests tied to more screening

Women at risk for chlamydia infections are more likely to get tested if they can do it at home instead of going to a clinic, suggests new research.

The study participants had all previously tested positive…    

Sexually transmitted diseases go up in Alaska

Alaska has the nation’s highest rate of Chlamydia and second-highest rate of gonorrhea as the sexually transmitted diseases spread in rural areas, according to the Alaska Division of Public Health.

A total 6,026 cases of the…    

Higher HIV risk in black gay men linked to partner choice, risk perception

Young black men who have sex with men (MSM) get infected with HIV nearly five times more often than MSM from other races, even though they don’t have more unprotected sex.

The discrepancy has long mystified…    

Test gets almost 1 in 5 syphilis cases wrong

Health officials say hundreds of people may have been told they have syphilis when they don’t.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a study of five U.S. labs shows about 18 percent of the…    

Young minority women screened at higher rate for chlamydia than young white women

A new study from the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute has found that Black and especially Hispanic young women are screened for chlamydia at a significantly higher rate than young white women. This discrepancy…    

Circumcision helps stop wart virus, study finds

Researchers have documented yet another health benefit for circumcision, which can protect men against the AIDS virus, saying it can protect their wives and girlfriends from a virus that causes cervical cancer.

Wives and girlfriends of…    

Is homophobia a factor in HIV racial gap?

Among gay men in the United States, blacks are more likely than whites to believe that homosexuality is “wrong” - and these feelings might be contributing to the black men’s higher risk of HIV infection, researchers suggest.

…    

U.S. apologizes for Guatemala syphilis experiment

The United States apologized on Friday for an experiment conducted in the 1940s in which U.S. government medical researchers deliberately infected Guatemalan prison inmates with syphilis.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Health and Human Services Secretary…    

Are white homosexual men still taking too many HIV risks?

Risky sexual behavior among members of a subset of the gay community is still adding to the spread of HIV. Research published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases has found that young white homosexual men have…    

Circumcision could halt 4 million new African HIV cases

More than 4 million new HIV infections could be prevented in eastern and southern Africa by 2025 if male circumcision rates were increased to 80 percent, researchers said on Tuesday.

Expanding circumcision services to 80 percent…    

Consistent condom use may cut men’s HPV risk

Men who use condoms every time they have sex are less likely to harbor the virus that causes genital warts than those who are less consistent about protection, a new study finds.

The results, reported in…