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April Is Sexually Transmitted Disease Awareness Month

April is STD Awareness Month in the U.S., an opportunity to promote education and raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections and to encourage people to get tested. Half of the estimated 20 million STDs that occur in the U.S. each year are among young people, and this year's STD Awareness Month effort focuses on this population.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of all sexually active young people in the U.S. will get an STD by the time they're age 25, and most won't know it, since many of these infections have no symptoms. STDs that cause genital ulcers facilitate both acquisition and onward transmission of HIV.

While some STDs are asymptomatic at the time of infection, if left untreated they can go on to cause serious complications including infertility and infection of the brain and other organs. Other STDs -- including herpes simplex and human papillomavirus (HPV) -- cannot be cured. Fortunately, HPV -- as well as hepatitis A and B -- can be prevented with vaccines.

Resources

• CDC: April is STD Awareness Month
• CDC: STD Awareness Month feature
• STD and HIV Screening Recommendations
• Get Yourself Tested Campaign

4/17/15

Source

CDC. STD Awareness Month 2015. CDC Feature. Updated March 30, 2015