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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:03:15 AM | ahron, when i said people are being paranoid about STDs in general and HIV/AIDS in particular i meant that people obsessively post about it and rehash information that anyone with an ounce of sense should be aware of. it just seems like some people worry excessively and want sex to be sterile. they seem to forget that even safer sex is not 100%. condoms break, some STDs transmit even with condom use...there are no guarantees. but if we all lived our lives fearful of the what if's, then we'd never live life at all.
common sense is a good thing, paranoia can be paralyzing. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:16:03 AM | mmmm....i see what you're saying.
Maybe i agree even.
BUT, it's just like the obesity message being preached in a world where some people are killing themselves with anorexia.
The message is important and needs to be given out, but unfortunately the wrong people are hearing the message, while the people who need to hear are just going on spreading diseases around their community and making the world a dangerous place ha ha.
But yeah I kind of agree, sex isn't sterile and it's not like any of are going to chose to live without it just because of that!! ha ha :) | |
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eazk
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Joined: 9/8/2006
Msg: 28 | |
| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:41:43 AM | The quote that started it...
Who cares about the AMERICAN statistics.
Do americans realise that there is a world outside their country? Oh yeah that's right, they do...maybe that's why the always seem to be trying to blow it up. lol.
CurlyGirl~...I apologize, I'm not some flag waving TSA agent here, just somebody who is tired of hearing kids go on a rant about something they know next to nothing about.
Funny how his lol is lower case while the "Who cares..." is carefully set aside with "Americans" in uppercase. That is childish pandering..."Ohhhh, I didn't say anything mean, it was just a joke, see the lol".
This is a sex and dating forum...back to the topic at hand. 
 | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:28:42 AM |
there are 22.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (2.85% of the population in the region). this accounts for almost 70% of the 32.9 million people infected worldwide.
Yep you are right... But then again I have no plans to go on a wild sex romp with some Nigerian..
And the only Nigerians on this web site are scammers that are men claming to be women. So unless anyone on here plans on dating some scammer who is also a man living in Nigeria... Of coruse it could be a wild child sex kitten from South Africa... NOT...
If you want some real unsafe sex... Do it on a motorcycle on the interstate! | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:33:22 AM | what a scary statistic but wait there is more..for anyone willing to visit the CDC website, you can discover a breakdown by numbers of how many heterosexual encounters, outside of the high risk group of bisexual males and IV drug users was estimated to have resulted in a new case of HIV .. How many? ..
go look ..
then the next time someone tries to stampede the herd ..
you can have the spine to laugh in their face
CDC.gov.. says 53 % were male on male transmissions, 12 % traced to iv drug users sharing needles, 31 % to sexual encounters involving iv drug users and or bi sexual males ( lumped together as the "high risk group") lets see that totals to 96% damn doesnt leave too many cases of just having "unprotected sex" ,does it?
lets all panic cause after all , it makes us look "concerned"
and who doesnt want to look concerned? .. not me....
Now , my turn to rant
the main reason to really be nervous about sex isnt HIV.. its HPV.. all 76 varieties
including the main 4 that have a virtual one to one relationship with the victims of cervical cancer.. ever see the commercial for guardisil?
then of course theres chlamydia,trichomonas and the old familiar gonnorrhea and syphillis in all their new drug resistant strains and then once you get sick and end up in the hospital we can serve you up some MRSA and if you are real unlucky we will watch you melt from Strep Faschia.. now thats a sight you won't forget
literally, you will probably not be around to forget ..anything..
you can put a condom on then find out which critters will go from groin to mouth and back without a pause.. herpes likes that route ,way too well..
there might never have been a time in human history when it was more important to think before you have sex.. some of these treats can grab you.
.and you can't make them let go
lets focus on the real problem and stop kidding ourselves that a condom does more than slightly increase our odds and don't let the AIDS avengers distract you.
make the gift of giving your body really mean something, while it still does | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:44:19 AM | The interesting thing about all this is apparently we don't give a damn. One, the numbers of infected people would indicate as much and, two, we are a society that encourages cheating, multiple partners, spouse swapping and general promiscuity. So what do we expect is going to happen?
The lesson to be learned from what some people consider to be outdated, moral standards is that with irresponsibility comes consequences. Engaging in responsible behavior is not just an admonition from "good people" to "bad people" and it has nothing to do with being "morally superior." It has to do with using your head and taking responsibility for your own health and your partner's health. Using condoms does help, of course, but it's not a fail-safe method of preventing the spread of HIV.
We would do well to teach our kids (and ourselves) that collecting sex partners, or sharing them, is not the wisest or safest thing to do and that irresponsible behavior like that can lead to a disease that penicillin won't cure.
Bottom line? You play, you pay. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 7:34:13 AM | I'd say that bottomline is that as a nation the HIV crisis did not become our finest hour.
from Reagans first inane response right on through the inadequate funding of research, to our refusal to provide addicts with clean needles and our pitiful sex ed programs, our attempts to deal with it have been late, light and generally lame, mostly because it is a disease that by and large effects the poor, the minorities and the sexually different. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 9:59:06 AM | | Now I see many posters imply that government (US in particular) is not doing(spending) enough to prevent HIV/AIDS. While it may be true in developing countries, what more do people want gov-t to do about it in developed countries? All I can think of is handing out free condoms. But then again, they are not that expensive, all the information about the disease, its dangers and HOW it spreads and how to avoid it is available, widely publicized, and repeated innumerable times in every way possible, practically hammered into people's heads. If people know that and STILL engage in unsafe behavior, what can government do? Hold the candle? Forcefully isolate the infected? But then someone will scream human rights. If it was some airborne germ that struck at random, I could agree - gov-t should do more. This, however, is the case (in this country at least) that IMO the responsibility for being safe lies on each individual. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:15:34 AM | A part of what people are missing here is the exponential growth...
Basically, of thoese 56,300 some 16,000 did not know thet were infected...
So let's take 16,000 people and if they have sex with only 2 other partners per year.... it grows to 48,000
The following year, 48,000 becomes...144,000
The following year, 144,000 becomes 432,000
The following year, 432,000 becomes 1,296,000
The following year, 1,296,000 becomes 3,888,00 and so on...
And these are just the people who don't know they have it... | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:18:20 AM |
The lesson to be learned from what some people consider to be outdated, moral standards is that with irresponsibility comes consequences. Engaging in responsible behavior is not just an admonition from "good people" to "bad people" and it has nothing to do with being "morally superior." It has to do with using your head and taking responsibility for your own health and your partner's health. Using condoms does help, of course, but it's not a fail-safe method of preventing the spread of HIV.
In fact some of that old fashioned morality even came from awareness that diseases can be spread by sex...
The same as some religions advocate not eating pork as it was 'unclean'. That comes from the fact that pork has a higher likelyhood of parasites than most other meat... | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:35:35 AM | m_church: regarding your comments regarding exponential growth of HIV infection... first you are assuming that of those 16,000 hypothetically infected people they would be having unprotected sex with all of their subsequent partners (remember the other person has a choice in the matter as well), and you also assume that every act of unprotected sex would result in HIV infection. now, while i'm not suggesting that it's a wise idea to have unprotected sex with anyone who may have an STD, the fact is, there is not a 100% rate of contraction of HIV simply due to exposure. frankly your chances of contracting HPV (warts), herpes, ghonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis from an unprotected encounter is far greater. in fact HIV is one of the more difficult STDs to acquire.
even so, everyone should practice safer sex and make sane choices...but we should also not become paranoid and exaggerate reality for the sake of impact in a debate on this subject. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:54:53 AM | | Curlygirl, I do see what you are saying. I pay attention to statistics from the rest of the world as well as they come out but that tends to be more abstract to me as there isn't much I can do about it beyond voting for people I think will work with the global community and putting my dollars into the hands of those that I think manage to do some good in those areas. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:02:09 PM | What I have is to laugh at all of this. That all everyone is concerned with is HIV in this. That they will have 'sex' with a condom then go ahead and swallow some strange guys load like it could not possibly carry a germ. Yes if you have a cut or bleeding in your mouth "90% of all adults have some kind of bleeding gums" you could easily catch something.
What about other STD's? Hepatitis B you can catch about 100 times more likely however there is a vaccine for it. What about the classics like herpes?
Seems like everyone on this website is concerned with just HIV were they should be directing there thoughts on those other cooties out there. Unless they all already have herpes an could care less..... | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:41:24 PM | United States Percent
Male 80.2% 1
Female 19.8% 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 79.3%
Female 20.7%
Alaska Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 83.5%
Female 16.5%
Arizona Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 89.7%
Female 10.3%
Arkansas Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 81.0%
Female 19.0%
California Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 91.4%
Female 8.6%
Colorado Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 91.4%
Female 8.6%
Connecticut Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 71.9%
Female 28.1%
Delaware Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 72.8%
Female 27.2%
District of Columbia Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 77.7%
Female 22.3%
Florida Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 75.0%
Female 25.0%
Georgia Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 79.9%
Female 20.1%
Hawaii Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 92.0%
Female 8.0%
Idaho Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 85.8%
Female 14.2%
Illinois Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 82.9%
Female 17.1%
Indiana Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.6%
Female 13.4%
Iowa Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 85.1%
Female 14.9%
Kansas Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 87.7%
Female 12.3%
Kentucky Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 84.9%
Female 15.1%
Louisiana Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 79.1%
Female 20.9%
Maine Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.7%
Female 13.3%
Maryland Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 71.8%
Female 28.2%
Massachusetts Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 77.2%
Female 22.8%
Michigan Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 81.7%
Female 18.3%
Minnesota Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.0%
Female 14.0%
Mississippi Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 75.1%
Female 24.9%
Missouri Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 88.7%
Female 11.3%
Montana Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 88.6%
Female 11.4%
Nebraska Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 83.0%
Female 17.0%
Nevada Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.4%
Female 13.6%
New Hampshire Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 81.2%
Female 18.8%
New Jersey Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 71.1%
Female 28.9%
New Mexico Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 91.1%
Female 8.9%
New York Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 74.4%
Female 25.6%
North Carolina Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 76.6%
Female 23.4%
North Dakota Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 89.7%
Female 10.3%
Ohio Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.0%
Female 14.0%
Oklahoma Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 87.9%
Female 12.1%
Oregon Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 91.6%
Female 8.4%
Pennsylvania Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 78.4%
Female 21.6%
Rhode Island Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 75.2%
Female 24.8%
South Carolina Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 74.4%
Female 25.6%
South Dakota Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 81.9%
Female 18.1%
Tennessee Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 80.5%
Female 19.5%
Texas Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 85.4%
Female 14.6%
Utah Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 89.5%
Female 10.5%
Vermont Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 86.7%
Female 13.3%
Virginia Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 79.9%
Female 20.1%
Washington Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 90.9%
Female 9.1%
West Virginia Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 83.2%
Female 16.8%
Wisconsin Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 85.0%
Female 15.0%
Wyoming Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 87.0%
Female 13.0%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guam Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 88.4%
Female 11.6%
Puerto Rico Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 75.4%
Female 24.6%
Virgin Islands Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 68.2%
Female 31.8%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Residence Unknown Percent 0.0% - 100.0%
Male 77.1%
Female 22.9%
Notes: Includes persons with a diagnosis of AIDS, reported from the beginning of the epidemic through 2006. U.S. totals include data from the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia), and from U.S. dependencies, possessions, and independent nations in free association with the U.S., and persons whose state or area of residence is unknown.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention-Surveillance and Epidemiology, Special Data Request, March 2008.
Footnotes:
1. U.S. total includes males from the Pacific Islands.
2. U.S. total includes females from the Pacific Islands.
3. U.S. totals include persons from the Pacific Islands, one person from Pennsylvania whose sex is unknown, and two people from New York whose sex is unknown. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:46:33 PM | updated 10:17 p.m. EDT, Sat August 2, 2008
CDC: More Americans HIV-positive than previously believedStory Highlights
NEW: Medical care official says numbers reflect failure of prevention programs
CDC reports 56,000 new HIV cases in past year, about 40 percent above projections
Data comes from new test method that determines when someone became infected
Homosexual, bisexual men account for 53% of cases; African-Americans, 45%
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- There are more new cases of Americans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, than previously believed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.
A woman uses the Oraquick rapid HIV testing device at a New York health clinic in 2006.
About 56,000 people became infected with HIV in the past year, which translates to about 40 percent more cases than officials had estimated, said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention.
Previous CDC estimates suggested about 40,000 new people were infected each year. But those estimates used "limited data and less precise methods," said the center, which is now using technology capable of determining when someone was infected.
The new method can indicate whether someone has been infected with HIV during the previous five months, rather than relying on statistical models.
Diagnosis of HIV can occur years after infection, he said.
"The fact that 56,000 Americans each year are contracting HIV for the first time is a wake-up call for all of us in the U.S.," Fenton said.
iReport.com: Are you living with HIV infection? Share your story
"These numbers are a scathing indictment of how profoundly U.S. and CDC HIV prevention efforts have failed," said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which calls itself "the nation's largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care."
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Weinstein called on the United States to appropriate $200 million for the testing of 10 million people over the next three years.
"Identifying all those who are infected and linking them to treatment is the only way to break the chain of new infections and begin to address the nation's runaway epidemic," he said.
In the United States, more than 1 million people are living with HIV, and about one-fourth of them are unaware they have the virus, the CDC said. See a breakdown of HIV cases in the U.S. »
According to the report, 53 percent of new HIV infections occur in homosexual or bisexual men. African-Americans account for 45 percent, or 25,000 new cases annually, meaning they are seven times more likely to contract HIV than whites.
In Washington, D.C., 80 percent of people living with HIV are African-American, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.
On Tuesday, the California-based think tank Black AIDS Institute released a report that suggests that the AIDS epidemic among African-Americans in parts of the United States is as severe as it is in parts of Africa.
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If African-Americans made up their own country, it would rank 16th globally in the number of people living with HIV, said Black AIDS Institute founder Phill Wilson.
The number of people newly infected has remained relatively stable since the late 1990s, and the more accurate estimate does not change that, the CDC said.
Wilson said the numbers were especially startling considering that the United States lacked the infrastructure to handle 40,000 new HIV cases each year.
Now, with the numbers as high as 56,000 a year, it's even worse, he said.
"We do not have a national AIDS strategy," said Wilson, suggesting that the new numbers should translate into a "national call to action."
Fenton acknowledged more needs to be done, but said the CDC was bound to operate within "the president's budget."
Ideally, he said, a response to the epidemic would include more investment in prevention efforts. The CDC will work with the Department of Health and Human Services, along with other public and private organizations, to "add to the federal pot," he said.
"Every year, more than 15,000 people are dying from this disease, and AIDS is a major killer for some of our minority communities," he said.
"The key thing we have to focus on now is what, how and when do we begin to enhance the prevention responses to end this epidemic."
Fenton and Wilson said removing stigma and discrimination are necessary first steps. People need to be educated about how they can prevent infection and, if they do get HIV, how they can get tested and treated as soon as possible.
Since the mid-1990s, antiretroviral therapies have turned HIV and AIDS into more of a chronic illness rather than a death sentence. Until a vaccine is developed, getting infected people on antiretrovirals as early as possible would improve their long-term outcome.
The new data is scheduled for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association. The report's release is meant to coincide with the opening Sunday of the the biannual International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:59:56 PM | Trends in Reportable Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States, 2006
National Surveillance Data for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. While substantial progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain STDs in recent years, CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.1 In addition to the physical and psychological consequences of STDs, these diseases also exact a tremendous economic toll. Direct medical costs associated with STDs in the United States are estimated at up to $14.7 billion annually in 2006 dollars.2
This document summarizes 2006 national data on trends in three notifiable STDs — chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis — that are published in CDC’s report, Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2006. These data, which are useful for examining overall trends and trends among populations at risk, represent only a small proportion of the true national burden of STDs. Many cases of notifiable STDs go undiagnosed, and some highly prevalent viral infections, such as human papillomavirus and genital herpes, are not reported at all.
Chlamydia: Reported Cases Exceed One Million, but Majority of Infections Remain Undiagnosed
Chlamydia remains the most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States. In 2006, 1,030,911 chlamydia diagnoses were reported, up from 976,445 in 2005. Even so, most chlamydia cases go undiagnosed. It is estimated that there are approximately 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia in the United States each year.1
The national rate of reported chlamydia in 2006 was 347.8 cases per 100,000 population, an increase of 5.6 percent from 2005 (329.4). The increases in reported cases and rates likely reflect the continued expansion of screening efforts and increased use of more sensitive diagnostic tests; however, the continued increases may also reflect an actual increase in infections.
Health Consequences of Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that can easily be cured with antibiotics, but usually occurs without symptoms and often goes undiagnosed. Untreated, it can cause severe health consequences for women, including pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Up to 40 percent of females with untreated chlamydia infections develop PID, and 20 percent of those may become infertile.3 Complications from chlamydia among men are relatively uncommon, but may include epididymitis and urethritis, which can cause pain, fever, and in rare cases, sterility.
Impact on Women
Women, especially young women, are hit hardest by chlamydia. Studies have found that chlamydia is more common among adolescent females than adolescent males, and the long-term consequences of untreated disease are much more severe for females. The chlamydia case rate for females in 2006 was three times higher than for males (515.8 vs. 173.0). Much of this difference reflects the fact that females are far more likely to be screened than males. Young females aged 15 to 19 had the highest chlamydia rate (2,862.7), 2500 followed by females aged 20 to 24 (2,797.0).
Chlamydia is common among all races and ethnic groups; however, African-American women are disproportionately affected. In 2006, the rate of reported chlamydia per 100,000 black females (1,760.9) was more than seven times that of white females (237.0) and more than twice that of Hispanic females (761.3). The rate among American Indian/Alaska Native females was the second highest, at 1,262.3 and the rate among Asian/Pacific Islander females was the lowest, at 201.2.
Because case reports do not provide a complete account of the burden of disease, researchers also evaluate chlamydia prevalence in subgroups of the population to better estimate the true extent of the disease. For example, data from chlamydia screening in family planning clinics across the United States indicate that approximately 7 percent of 15- to 24-year-old females in these settings are infected.
Importance of Screening
Because chlamydia is most common among young women, CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 26, as well as older women with risk factors such as new or multiple sex partners.4 Data from one study in a managed care setting suggest that chlamydia screening and treatment can reduce the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) by over 50 percent.5 Unfortunately, many sexually active young women are not being tested for chlamydia, in part reflecting a lack of awareness among some providers and limited resources for screening.6 Research has shown that simple changes in clinical procedures, such as coupling chlamydia tests with routine Pap testing, can sharply increase the proportion of sexually active young women screened.7 Increased prevention screening efforts are critical to preventing the serious health consequences of this infection, particularly infertility.
Recent studies have also shown that many young women who have been diagnosed with chlamydia may become re-infected by male partners who have not been diagnosed or treated.8,9CDC’s 2006 STD Treatment Guidelines recommend that women be re-tested for chlamydia approximately three months after treatment, and also recommend the delivery of antibiotic therapy by heterosexual patients to their partners, if other strategies for reaching and treating partners are not likely to succeed.4 The availability of urine tests for chlamydia is likely contributing to increased detection of the disease in men, and consequently the rising rates of reported chlamydia among males in recent years (from 126.8 in 2002 to 173.0 in 2006).
Gonorrhea: Disease Stable with Slight Increases in Recent Years
Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States, with 358,366 cases reported in 2006. Following a 74 percent decline in the rate of reported gonorrhea from 1975 through 1997, overall gonorrhea rates plateaued, then increased for the past two years. In 2006, the gonorrhea rate was 120.9 cases per 100,000 population, an increase of 5.5 percent since 2005 and an increase for the second consecutive year. Like chlamydia, gonorrhea is substantially under-diagnosed and under-reported, and approximately twice as many new infections are estimated to occur each year as are reported.1
Increasing Rates in Southern and Western United States
As in previous years, the South had the highest gonorrhea rate among the four regions of the country. Additionally, rates rose in the South for the first time in eight years, increasing 12.3 percent between 2005 and 2006 from 141.8 to 159.2 per 100,000 population.
While the impact is greatest in the South, researchers are also concerned about continued increases in the West, where the rate of reported gonorrhea cases rose 2.9 percent between 2005 and 2006 (from 80.5 to 82.8 per 100,000) and increased by 31.8 percent between 2002 and 2006.
Between 2002 and 2006, the rate in the South declined slightly (from 161.8 to 159.2), the Northeast declined 21.2 percent (from 93.6 to 73.8) and the rate in the Midwest showed minimal change (from 142.2 in 2002 to 136.9 in 2006).
Health Consequences of Gonorrhea
While gonorrhea is easily cured, untreated cases can lead to serious health problems. Among women, gonorrhea is a major cause of PID, which can lead to chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. In men, untreated gonorrhea can cause epididymitis, a painful infection in the tissue surrounding the testicles that can result in infertility. In addition, studies suggest that presence of gonorrhea infection makes an individual three to five times more likely to acquire HIV, if exposed.12
Increased Drug Resistance Leads to New CDC Treatment Guidelines
Drug resistance is an increasingly important concern in the treatment and prevention of gonorrhea.10 CDC monitors trends in gonorrhea drug resistance through the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project (GISP), which tests gonorrhea samples (“isolates”) from the first 25 men with urethral gonorrhea attending STD clinics each month in sentinel clinics across the United States (28 cities in 2006).11
Overall, 13.8 percent of gonorrhea isolates tested through GISP in 2006 demonstrated resistance to fluoroquinolones, a leading class of antibiotics previously recommended to treat the disease, compared to 9.4 percent in 2005 and 6.8 percent in 2004. Resistance to the fluoroquinolones has been highest among men who have sex with men (MSM). From 2005 to 2006, resistance among heterosexuals nearly doubled from 3.8 to 7 percent and continued to increase among MSM from 29 to 39 percent.
In April 2007, based on preliminary 2006 data that showed widespread fluoroquinolone-resistance among both heterosexuals and men who have sex with men (MSM), CDC revised its gonorrhea treatment guidelines, no longer recommending that this class of antibiotics be used to treat any cases of gonorrhea in the United States.13 CDC had previously announced that fluoroquinolones were no longer recommended as treatment for gonorrhea among MSM, as well as anyone in California, Hawaii, and other areas where fluoroquinolone-resistant cases were widespread.4,10
With the loss of fluoroquinolones, recommended gonorrhea treatments are limited to a single class of antibiotics, cephalosporins. Although 2006 data show no indication of cephalosporin resistance, increased monitoring for emerging resistance and accelerated research into new treatments are needed to continue the nation’s progress in controlling this common sexually transmitted disease.
Syphilis: Cases Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year
The rate of primary and secondary (P&S) syphilis — the most infectious stages of the disease — decreased throughout the 1990s, and in 2000 reached an all-time low. However, over the past six years, the syphilis rate in the United States has been increasing. Between 2005 and 2006, the national P&S syphilis rate increased 13.8 percent, from 2.9 to 3.3 cases per 100,000 population, and the number of cases increased from 8,724 to 9,756.
The overall increase in syphilis rates from 2005 to 2006 was driven primarily by increases among males, with the rate increasing by 11.8 percent (from 5.1 per 100,000 population in 2005 to 5.7 in 2006) in that group. However, the rate among females increased for the second year in a row, following a decade of declines (from 0.9 per 100,000 in 2005 to 1.0 in 2006, an increase of 11.1 percent). Additionally, the rate of congenital syphilis (i.e., transmission from mother to newborn) increased slightly in 2006 (from 8.2 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 8.5 in 2006). While it is too early to determine if the increase among newborns is a trend, increases in congenital syphilis have historically followed increases among women.
Health Consequences of Syphilis
Syphilis, a genital ulcerative disease, is highly infectious, but easily curable in its early (primary and secondary) stages. If untreated, it can lead to serious longterm complications, including brain, cardiovascular, and organ damage, and even death. Congenital syphilis can cause stillbirth, death soon after birth, and physical deformity and neurological complications in children who survive. Syphilis, like many other STDs, facilitates the spread of HIV by increasing the likelihood of transmission of the virus.14
Rising Rates Driven Largely by Cases among Men Who Have Sex with Men
The rate of P&S syphilis among men has risen 54 percent over the past five years (from 3.7 per 100,000 in 2002 to 5.7 per 100,000 in 2006), driving overall increases in syphilis rates for the nation. Several sources of data suggest that increased transmission of P&S syphilis among MSM may be largely responsible for these increases. Over time, the disparity between male and female case rates has grown considerably. The P&S syphilis rate among males is now nearly six times the rate among females, whereas the rates were almost equivalent a decade ago.
In 2005, CDC requested that case reports include the gender of sex partners for persons with syphilis. In 2006, the first full year for which data are available, 64 percent of all P&S syphilis cases were among MSM (based on data from 30 areas, 2006). More complete data on the gender of sex partners is expected in the coming years as a greater number of states report these findings.
Concerning Increases among Women
While P&S syphilis rates remained substantially lower among females than males, overall rates among females increased for the second year in a row, after a decade of declines, with an increase of 11.1 percent between 2005 and 2006 (from 0.9 to 1.0). This increase was largely driven by increased rates among African-American females, which rose 11.4 percent (from 4.4 in 2005 to 4.9 in 2006). Rates among females in all other racial/ethnic groups declined or remained stable.
The reasons for these overall increases among females are not yet clear. However, CDC is currently analyzing this trend to better understand the factors driving this increase.
Eliminating syphilis as a health threat in the United States will require an ongoing commitment to syphilis education, testing, and treatment in all populations affected. In May 2006, CDC released its updated National Plan to Eliminate Syphilis, designed to sustain elimination efforts in populations traditionally at risk, including African Americans and women of all races and ethnicities, and to support innovative solutions to fight the resurgence of syphilis among MSM.15
Racial Disparities Persist Across All Reportable STDs
Racial and ethnic minorities continue to be disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted diseases in the United States. These disparities may be, in part, because racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to seek care in public health clinics that report STDs more completely than private providers. However, this reporting bias does not fully explain these differences. Other contributing factors include limited access to quality health care, poverty, and higher prevalence of disease in these populations.
Data in CDC’s 2006 STD Surveillance Report show higher rates of all STDs among minority racial and ethnic populations when compared to whites, with the exception of Asians/Pacific Islanders.
Chlamydia
In 2006, the rate of chlamydia among African Americans was more than eight times higher than the rate among whites (1275.0 vs. 153.1 per 100,000 population), with approximately 46 percent of all chlamydia cases reported among African Americans. Additionally, the rates among American Indians/Alaska Natives (797.3 per 100,000) and Hispanics (477.0 per 100,000), were five times and three times higher than whites, respectively. In 2006, chlamydia rates increased for all racial/ethnic groups, except for Asians/Pacific Islanders.
Gonorrhea
Racial disparities in gonorrhea rates are even greater and racial gaps in diagnosis of gonorrhea are more pronounced than any other disease. The gonorrhea rate among African Americans was 18 times greater than that for whites in 2006 (658.4 per 100,000 vs. 36.5 per 100,000). From 2005 to 2006, the gonorrhea rate among African Americans increased by 6.3 percent—the first increase since 1998. In 2006, African Americans accounted for 69 percent of reported cases of gonorrhea.
In that same year, American Indians/Alaska Natives had the second-highest gonorrhea rate (138.3 per 100,000), followed by Hispanics (77.4), whites (36.5), and Asians/Pacific Islanders (21.1). In 2006, there were increases in gonorrhea rates among all racial and ethnic groups, except Asians/Pacific Islanders.
Syphilis
Although racial gaps in syphilis rates are narrowing, disparities remain, with rates in 2006 approximately six times higher among blacks than among whites. This represents a substantial decline from 1999, when the rate among blacks was 29 times greater than among whites. It is important to note that this narrowing reflects both declining disease rates among African Americans as well as significant increases among white males in recent years.
Despite some progress, African Americans continue to remain disproportionately affected by syphilis with a rate of 11.3 cases per 100,000 population in 2006. This is more than three times the rate for Hispanics, who have the second highest rate (3.6 cases per 100,000) as well as American Indians/Alaska Natives (3.3 cases per 100,000).
In 2006, the P&S syphilis rate among blacks increased for the third consecutive year, following more than a decade of declines. Between 2005 and 2006, the rate among blacks increased 16.5 percent (from 9.7 to 11.3), with the largest increase among black males (15.5 to 18.3, an increase of 18.1 percent).
In 2006, the rate of P&S syphilis in black females was 16 times higher than in white females. In that same year, 43.2 percent of all reported P&S syphilis cases occurred among African Americans, while whites accounted for 38.4 percent. Syphilis rates increased for all races and ethnicities in 2006.
CDC Efforts to Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities
CDC continues to work with partners from multiple sectors to increase awareness and identify and implement new solutions to reducing the impact of STDs in communities of color. In June 2007, CDC convened a consultation to address STD disparities in African-American communities as part of its accelerated efforts to bring community leaders and other partners together to address racial and ethnic disparities in STD rates.
Continuing to highlight these disparities is one critical step in increasing awareness of the problem among health care providers and affected communities, which can lead to developing solutions to reduce the spread of STDs.
References
1 Weinstock H, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004;36( 1):6-10.
2 HW Chesson, JM Blandford, TL Gift, G Tao, KL Irwin. The estimated direct medical cost of STDs among American youth, 2000. 2004 National STD Prevention Conference. Philadelphia, PA. March 8–11, 2004. Abstract P075.
3 Hillis SD and Wasserheit JN. Screening for Chlamydia — A Key to the prevention of pelvic inflammatory disease. New England Journal of Medicine 1996;334(21):1399-1401.
4 CDC. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2006;55(RR-11).
5 Scholes D et al. Prevention of pelvic inflammatory disease by screening for cervical chlamydial infection. New England Journal of Medicine 1996;334(21 ):1362-1366.
6 National Committee for Quality Assurance. The State of Health Care Quality 2006. Washington, D.C., 2006:30, 57-67. Available at: http://www.ncqa.org/communications/SOHC2006/ SOHC_2006.pdf.
7 Burstein G et al. Chlamydia screening in a health plan before and after a national performance measure introduction. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2005; 106(2):327-334.
8 Klinger E, et al. Burden of repeat Chlamydia trachomatis infection in young women in New York City. 2006 National STD Prevention Conference. Jacksonsville, FL. May 8–11, 2006. Abstract A1e.
9 Chow J, et al. Repeat chlamydia and gonorrhea infection using case-based surveillance reports and laboratory-based prevalence monitoring data, California, 2003–2004. 2006 National STD Prevention Conference. Jacksonsville, FL. May 8–11, 2006. Abstract P32.
10 CDC. Increases in fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae among men who have sex with men — United States, 2003, and revised recommendations for gonorrhea treatment, 2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2004;53(16):335-338.
11 CDC. Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project. Available at: www.cdc.gov/std/gisp.
12 Fleming DT and Wasserheit JN. From epidemiological synergy to public health policy and practice: the contribution of other sexually transmitted diseases to sexual transmission of HIV infection. Sexually Transmitted Infections 1999;75:3-17.
13 CDC. Update to CDC’s Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines, 2006: Fluoroquinolones No Longer Recommended for Treatment of Gonococcal Infections. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2007;56( 14):332-336. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5614a3.htm.
14 CDC. HIV prevention through early detection and treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases — United States recommendations of the Advisory Committee for HIV and STD Prevention. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1998; 47(RR-12):1-24.
15 CDC. Together we can: The national plan to eliminate syphilis from the United States, May 2006. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/stopsyphilis/SEEPlan2006.pdf.
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Page last modified: November 13, 2007
Page last reviewed: November 13, 2007
Content Source: Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 2:23:45 PM | This thread is astounding. So you think it is so difficult to contract HIV. Let me edify you a little bit on that score. When my son was 18, he joined the army. He went through all the usual blood tests and such to determine that he was 100% healthy. He tested negative for HIV infection, so they cycled him through his boot camp and some schools then sent him home for a 30 day leave. During that time, a gal pal decided he shouldn't go off to serve his country and still be a virgin, so she did the "honors" over the leave period. He went back to the army and did a couple of months of school and then they issued orders for Germany, so he underwent the same tests. Lo and behold, the boy, with limited sexual contact, was HIV positive. My son - 1 in 5,000,000 people - from plain, ordinary, old fashioned heterosexual sex.
The average person does not routinely get tested for HIV infection and for that reason alone it COULD remain hidden; however, the antibodies for HIV can, in fact, be detected within days of exposure. Back at the time my son was diagnosed over 20 years ago, it took a more severe battery of tests, but today - DAYS.
another excuse for women to keep their legs closed!
Something tells me that any smart woman reading this nasty little statement should keep them closed with a person who thinks this way to begin with. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 2:29:54 PM |
Of course you can die many ways, why dont you eliminate one and put on a condom its thattttt easy.
Exactly __chelsey totally agree. Why do something that could cause your death when you can prevent it with reasonable care? | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/3/2008 2:36:03 PM | I will get concerned with these types of issues when I start having sex again. At the rate I'm going this is the last thing on my mind. Maybe I'm just too picky 
To the rest of the lucky guys out there, put your rain coat on! Oh and if your going down on a girl don't forget a dental dam! Make sure you boil her in 180 degree water too!
You women, no bare back blow jobs. Wrap it up with a nice tasty condom.
I hope I can't catch anything from doing the five knuckle shuffle with my computer? | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/4/2008 8:32:27 AM |
All I can think of is handing out free condoms. But then again, they are not that expensive
Umm, I guess that depends on how much sex your getting!!! My gf's not on the pill, and personaly, I find them BLOODY expensive!!
(but i only use them sometimes anyway, the rest of the time i'm jsut "very carefull" ha ha. Oh, and we've been together 6 years, and i know she doesn't have AIDS. We both work in the medical feild and we're both tested regularly.) | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/4/2008 9:17:54 AM | 299,398,484 estimated people in the United States in 2006, according to the United States Census.
out of that, 56,300 US citizens infected with HIV in 2006.
that's roughly 2% of the Entire United States Population, let's divide that into a third now, to root out elderly and minors, just for estimation-sake.
so, 299,398,484/3= 997,999,495 (rounded up)
So.
997,999,495/56,300 = roughly 5.6%, or 6% if we're rounding.
paranoid much? | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/4/2008 9:22:12 AM | I'd also like to clarify that, I surely hope that if you find condoms appropriate for disease control with your partner, I certainly hope that Oral sex is not involved, unless he's wearing a condom.
Or going down on a woman is ill-advised, period. Oral sex can transmit HIV. | |
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| 56,300 U.S. citizens were infected with HIV in 2006
Posted: 8/4/2008 9:34:03 AM | wow, John...way to make sex sterilized, clinical, and kill any possibility of spontaneity. perhaps you'd like to screen potential dates, ask for a resume, references, and a doctor's note as well.
not to mention your fine excuse to avoid reciprocating with oral on a woman...have you considered latex dental dams or even saran wrap as a barrier? because condom or not, any guy who isn't willing to reciprocate in kind, quite frankly probably won't get sucked off much either.
if you want guarantees...live in a plastic bubble, with only a bottle of lotion and your hand for company.
being aware of statistics, getting tested, and making safer sex choices is wise...but lets not become consumed by our fears shall we? getting in a car and turning on the ignition involves risk too...but millions of people still get behind the wheel every day. life comes with risk, so be sensible, but not paranoid. | |
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