common sexually transmitted diseases (std’s)

By admin
Nov 29, 2007
4:00 am

photo by steed media services

health matters

Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is the name of a condition in women where the normal balance of bacteria in the vagina is disrupted and replaced by an overgrowth of certain bacteria. It is sometimes accompanied by discharge, odor, pain, itching or burning. BV is the most common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age. In the U.S., as many as 16 percent of pregnant women have BV.

Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium, chlamydia trachomatis, which can damage a woman’s reproductive organs. Even though symptoms are usually mild or absent, serious complications that cause irreversible damage, including infertility, can occur “silently” before a woman ever recognizes a problem. Chlamydia also can cause discharge from the penis of an infected man. In 2004, 929,462 chlamydial infections were reported to CDC from 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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Genital Herpes is caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2). Most individuals have no, or only minimal signs of the disease. When symptoms do occur, they typically appear as one or more blisters on or around the genitals or rectum. The blisters break, leaving tender ulcers (sores) that may take two to four weeks to heal the first time they occur. Typically, another outbreak can appear weeks or months after the first, but it almost always is less severe and shorter than the first outbreak. Although the infection can stay in the body indefinitely, the number of outbreaks tends to decrease over a period of years. Nationwide, 1 out of 5 adolescents and adults have had genital herpes infection.

Genital HPV Infection is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix or rectum. Most people who become infected will not have symptoms and the infection will clear up on its own.

Gonorrhea is caused by neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterium that can grow and multiply easily in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract, including the cervix (opening to the womb), uterus (womb), and fallopian tubes (egg canals) in women, and in the urethra (urine canal) in women and men. The bacterium can also grow in the mouth, throat, eyes and anus. CDC estimates that more than 700,000 persons in the U.S. get new gonorrheal infections each year.

Hepatitis B is a serious liver disease caused by a virus. HBV is spread through sexual contact with an infected person. People of all ages can contract hepatitis B and about 5,000 die each year from sickness caused by HBV.

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Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is a general term that refers to infection of the uterus (womb), fallopian tubes (tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the uterus) and other reproductive organs. If left untreated, it can lead to serious consequences including infertility, ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy in the fallopian tube or elsewhere outside of the womb), abscess formation and chronic pelvic pain. Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that more than one million women experience an episode of acute PID. Annually, more than 150 women die from PID or its complications.

Syphilis is caused by the bacterium treponema pallidum. It has often been called “the great imitator” because so many of the signs and symptoms are indistinguishable from those of other diseases. Many people infected with syphilis do not have any symptoms for years, yet remain at risk for late complications if they are not treated.

Trichomoniasis affects both women and men, although symptoms are more common in women. Trichomoniasis is the most common curable STD in young, sexually active women. An estimated 7.4 million new cases occur each year in women and men.
(source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
www.cdc.gov/std/trichomonas/default.html.

The causal complexities compel multiple perspectives for 360-degree comprehension of the problem’s scope.

Such multi-level causal dynamics compel multi-level conceptual perspectives, which various experts presenting at the conference provided:

Epidemiological There are significant disparities in bacterial STDs that affect African American communities throughout the nation.
Sociological Sociological determinants such as sex partner concurrency, dissortative mixing, and segregation influence STD rates in African- American communities. Contextual factors such as racial and economic oppression, high rates of incarceration, and drug abuse play an important role in sexual partnering decisions.
Behavioral Individual-level behavior puts one at risk of acquiring an STD—but to a different extent depending on race. Unlike whites, African Americans need not engage in high-risk behavior to be at high risk of contracting an STD owing to the greater prevalence of STDs in African-American communities.
Structural Health care related and health care policy related structural factors contribute to the high STD prevalence. Health care access and quality varies dramatically among populations and is worse in higher- STD-risk areas. Moreover, timeliness of detection and treatment affect prevalence in a community, so improving access to acceptable health care should be part of the solution.
Statistical. Measurement of disparities is an area that can either add clarity or further confuse issues. Standardized measurements and defi- nitions of such terms as “parity” and “disparity” must be created in order to assess progress toward—and accomplishment of—end-goals.
Episemological. There are alternate “ways of knowing” less familiar to Western-educated thinkers that must be embraced for full perception of the “human condition in its most troubled state”—of which STD disparities are just one symptom. Appropriate responses to the problem depend upon this deep understanding of the experiential reality of the people involved.
Spiritual. The faith factor—belief in a redemptive dynamic—must be operative in the work for it to succeed. Importantly, all of these perspectives dovetail and point to the same broad conclusion about the root cause of racial health disparities: deep racial inequality in America.
(source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)