WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half of all young Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease by the age of 25, perhaps because they are ignorant about protection or embarrassed to ask for it, according to several reports issued on Tuesday.

The reports, publicized by two nonprofit sexual and youth health groups, said there were 9 million new cases of STD among teens and young adults aged 15 to 24 in 2000.

They said the U.S. government's policy of preferring abstinence-only education would only increase those rates.

"For the 27 million young Americans under the age of 25 who have had sex, the stakes are simply too high to talk only about abstinence," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, said in a statement.

"Given the prevalence of STDs, young people need all the facts -- including medically accurate information on condoms."

The reports, released jointly by Advocates for Youth -- a nonprofit group advocating for sex education, and the sexual health-oriented Alan Guttmacher Institute, pull together information from several different publications.

They include a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and a University of North Carolina report based on interviews with teens and young adults.

"Approximately 18.9 million new cases of STD occurred in 2000, of which 9.1 million (48 percent) were among persons aged 15 to 24," the CDC report reads.

It said three diseases -- human papillomavirus or genital wart virus, a parasitic infection called trichomoniasis and chlamydia -- accounted for 88 percent of all new cases of STDs in 15- to 24-year-olds. Wart virus is the major cause of cervical cancer while chlamydia can cause infertility.

POTENTIAL CAUSES

The CDC report did not comment on potential causes, but the Guttmacher Institute did.
"It is not surprising that teens and young adults contract a disproportionate number of infections," said Guttmacher's Sharon Camp. "Most young people are sexually active, and many are ill equipped to prevent STDs or seek testing and treatment."
She said sex education that includes information on condoms is vital to preventing STDs.

"Although abstaining from sexual activity is guaranteed to prevent STDs, some adolescents and virtually all young adults will eventually choose to have sex," Camp said.

"Before they do, they need realistic sex education that teaches them how to prevent STDs and unwanted pregnancies. It is essential to have medically accurate information about condoms and other contraceptive methods, and guidance on how to access appropriate prevention, testing and treatment services."

Teens 15 and older who have had sex have the highest STD rates of any age group in the country, and the United States has the highest STD rate of any industrialized country, according to CDC and World Health Organization figures.

The University of North Carolina report attacked federal policies that encourage abstinence-only education.

"Abstinence is, of course, the only 100 percent effective prevention strategy," Shawn Carney, a 17-year-old member of the UNC youth panel, said in a statement.

"But with 70 percent of young people having sex by the age of 18, we need to hear about more than abstinence. We need to know how to prevent STDs when we do have sex later in life."

[Source: Reuters]

This is an interesting article. First, I wonder what STD's they considered and what the relative rate for each STD is. Why? Because many are easily and quickly curable, and I am curious how the US compares to other countries regarding AIDS, syphylis, and other serious STD's as opposed to the curable "nuisance" STD's.

I will note that it's surprising to me for two reasons:

1. I posted a lengthy summary at The Oasis Forums of an FHM ("For Him Magazine") article that very clearly showed that women in Europe and South America are more willing to have sex, have sex on the first date, have sex for money, and have "interesting" types of sex (such as multiple partners, etc.). I apologize, but at the moment I cannot access that post because Oasis is apparently undergoing a server change. I WILL post it as soon as I can access it (and have time).

2. I noticed in Europe that "hooking up" at bars and clubs was less common than in the US. It seemed to me that, even at "sexed-up" clubs, people came in groups of friends and tended to stay within their group. However, that difference aside, I found it just as easy to have indiscriminate and unprotected sex in Europe as in the U.S., if not moreso. (The same I have found true for European women visiting the U.S., but it's not fair to include that since most people are willing to be more "adventurous" when in a foreign country -- I know I was. [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img] ) So, the statistics actually go against what I would suspect. Who knows, maybe my experience was unique. [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] If so, I wouldn't dare trade it. :D

Anyway, I'll return to post some of these "sexual behavior" statistics I referenced, as I think they may offer relevant information.

This investigation appears to have been focussed specialically on the United States. So we really don't have a clue how this compares to the situation in Europe. In the meanwhile, let's not forget that Europe isn't one nation. In some countries it's easier to 'hook up' then in others.

All known forms of syphilis are curable. Just take a shot of penicilin. The 'manly appendage turns green and fall off' kind of syphilis was only rumored to exist, as some exotic disease of SE Asia, it was hoped that rumors of such a disease would be enough to keep the snakes in their cages. Well, it didn't work and prostitution became big business in Saigon and other places where soldiers and civilians concentrated together.

On the other hand Europe has better education about sex and sexually transmitted diseases, better, and more easily accessed, pre-care for youths, more information about sexual diseases etc. ;) (At least in the European countries I know colleagues in). Information and education about sexually transmitted diseases is all it takes. Even though most of them are not lethal, they still have many terrible symptoms.

[img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Great post!
And we haven't even started on teenage pregnancy yet...

At some point, you figure the consequences of such diseases are going to force people (with a huge, ginormous amount of emphasis on parents) to talk about sex frankly with young people, and that young people themselves are going to have to be held accountable for their actions, irregardless of whatever moral codes they live by.

Well when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases I would rather see lectures by professionals. That would give you background, complications, as well as prevention. Either that or educate the teachers. But since this i san embarrassing subject to many people it would be better to have professionals do the educating, since a) it's every day life for them and b) they have the knowledge. Of course parents who adds condoms to their childrens wallets before parties should be commended. [img]smile.gif[/img] I know I will demand that of my children. If they want o have sex they should be able to, but NOT without protection. That would eliminate the more embarrassing moments but still give an excellent effect. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well when it comes to sexually transmitted diseases I would rather see lectures by professionals. That would give you background, complications, as well as prevention. Either that or educate the teachers. But since this i san embarrassing subject to many people it would be better to have professionals do the educating, since a) it's every day life for them and b) they have the knowledge. Of course parents who adds condoms to their childrens wallets before parties should be commended. [img]smile.gif[/img] I know I will demand that of my children. If they want o have sex they should be able to, but NOT without protection. That would eliminate the more embarrassing moments but still give an excellent effect. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]I disagree. Parents should be involved in their kids' lives. Something as unsubstantial as "It's embarassing" is hardly justification for shirking responsibility in talking to your kids (and vice versa). And despite the arguments and the conflicts that regularly occur during adolescence, teenagers are still (in my opinion; I've no concrete evidence to substantiate my claim) more likely to listen to advice from their mother and/or father, than from an unfamiliar authority figure.

Advice yes, education, well in this case no. I wouldn't be able to educate my children about syphilis. We are talking about two different things here. ;) The basics, such as why to use and how to use a condom should of course from the parents as well, as well as to really emphasise the importance. But I doubt many parents would be able to educate their children about sexually transmitted diseases. Encouragement/warnings/conditions at home, but education by professionals. Throw in visits to clinics as well.