Download Sexually Transmitted diseases

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
DISEASES/INFECTIONS
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
also known as Sexually Transmitted
Infections (STIs)
-Are infectious diseases spread from one
person to another through sexual contact.
• Sexual Contact:
Intercourse (vaginal), Anal, Oral, &
touching.
• Body fluids that can transmit an STD:
- blood
- semen
- vaginal secretions
- breast milk
• Many people with STDs are
• asymptomatic – without having
symptoms.
• They don’t seek treatment because
they don’t know that they are
infected.
• People who do not know that they
are infected can continue to
transmit STDs.
HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR AND STDS:
• In the USA, teens make up ¼ of the estimated 15 million new
cases of STDs each year. That is more than 10,000 young
people infected every day.
Why are teens at a high risk for infection from
STDs?
Teens that are sexually active are likely to engage
in one or more of the following high risk
behaviors…..
HIGH RISK SEXUAL BEHAVIORS
• Being sexually active with more than one person.
• This includes having a series of sexual relationships with
more than one person at a time. Most people don’t
know the others past sexual behavior and whether
he/she has an STD.
• Engaging in unprotected sex.
Barrier protection is NOT 100% effective in preventing
the transmission of STDs, and is not effective at all
against HPV.
High risk sexual behavior continued….
• Selecting high risk partners.
Such partners include those with a history of being
sexually active with more than one person and also
those who have injected illegal drugs.
• Using alcohol or other drugs.
Alcohol can lower inhibitions. Studies show that more
than 25% of teens who have engaged in sexual
activity had been under the influence of alcohol or
drugs.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF STDS:
Most people, teens included, are not fully aware of the
consequences of STDs. These are serious infections that
can dramatically change a person’s life.
• Some STDs are incurable, these are the
viruses.
The pathogens that cause these disease cannot be
eliminated from the body by medical treatment,
such as antibiotics.
• Some STDs cause cancer. The Hepatitis B virus can
cause cancer of the liver. HPV can cause cancer in the
cervix.
More consequences…
• Some STDs can cause complications that
affect the ability to reproduce. Females can
develop Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID),
which damages reproductive organs and
cause sterility.
• Some STDs can be passed from an infected
female to her child before, during or after birth.
STDs can damage the bones, nervous system,
and brain of a fetus. Infants infected with STDs
at delivery may become blind, develop
pneumonia and even die.
COMMON STDS
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
A virus that can cause genital warts or
asymptomatic infection.
• HPV is considered the most common STD in the
US.
• The CDC estimates that 50-75% of sexually
active males and females acquire HPV. There
are about 30 different types of HPV than can
infect the genital area.
• Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused
by certain types of HPV. HPV can also cause
cancers of the penis and anus.
Genital warts
Pink or reddish warts with cauliflower like tops
that appear on the genitals and/or the
cervix one to three months after infection
from HPV.
• Genital warts are highly contagious and are
spread by ANY form of sexual contact with
an infected person.
• Once infected the person has the virus for
the rest of their life. Treatments can rid the
body of the warts, but not the virus.
Chlamydia
A bacterial infection that affects the
reproductive organs of both males and
females.
• Forty percent of cases reported are in
teens ages 15-19.
Chlamydia is asymptomatic in 75% of
infected females and 50% of infected
males. It often goes undetected until
serious complications arise
When symptoms are present, males
may experience a discharge from the
penis and burning during urination.
Females may have vaginal discharge,
burning upon urination or abdominal
pain.
Chlamydia is diagnosed by laboratory
examination of the secretions of the
cervix in females or from the urethra in
males.
• It can be treated with antibiotics, but a
person can become infected again.
• In females it can lead to PID, long term
pelvic pain or infertility. It can also
cause infertility in males.
GENITAL HERPES
Genital Herpes is an STD caused by the
herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two
types of HSV.
• Type 1 – usually causes cold sores
• Type 2 – usually causes genital sores
Both types can infect the mouth and
genitals.
Herpes continued…
It is NOT true that the virus can only be
spread while the sores are present. The
virus can be spread while the person is
asymptomatic.
Diagnosis is made through lab tests of the
fluid from the blisters.
Medication can relieve the symptoms,
but can not cure the virus. Once it is
contracted, the virus remains in the body
for life.
Most people who have genital
herpes are asymptomatic and not
aware that they are infected.
The typical symptoms are blisterlike sores in the genital area that
occur periodically.
The herpes virus is potentially deadly
for infants that contract the virus from
the mother through delivery.
The virus can also play a major role in
the spread of HIV. People who have
genital herpes are more capable of
transmitting or acquiring HIV.
GONORRHEA
• Gonorrhea is a bacterial STD that
usually affects mucous membranes.
Can spread to bloodstream and cause
•
permanent damage to joints.
Can be passed during childbirth (eye
infections
•
and blindness)
Gonorrhea continued….
Highest rates of gonorrhea infection are found in
females from 15-19yrs old & and in males 20 -24 yrs
old.
Symptoms in males:
 discharge from the penis and painful urination
Symptoms in females:
 50% of females have no symptoms.
 Those that do, vaginal discharge, pain or burning
during urination.
Gonorrhea cont….
Gonorrhea can be treated with
antibiotics.
SYPHILIS
Syphilis - an STD that attacks many parts
of the body and is caused by a
bacterial infection.
• 1st sign of infection is a painless reddish
sore called a chancre (SHAN-kuhr)
SYPHILIS CONTINUED…
• If the infection is not treated, it spreads
through the blood to other parts of the body.
• Disease can damage internal organs (heart,
liver, nervous system, and kidneys).
• If not treated, syphilis can lead to paralysis,
blindness, and heart disease.
• If passed to infant (during childbirth), baby
can die.
HIV & AIDS
How HIV began and what it
does:
HIV & AIDS
HIV- (human immunodeficiency virus) - a
virus that attacks the immune system.
HIV is a progressive disease that destroys
the immune system over many years.
Therefore it weakens a person’s ability to
fight off infections.
HIV does not necessarily mean someone
has AIDS. It can take years for AIDS to
develop.
When HIV enters the body it invades the
T cells. T cells help the white blood cells
identify and destroy pathogens
(organisms that cause disease)
The virus takes over the cells and
produces a new copy of itself .
The virus then breaks out of the cell and
destroys it.
• The new virus infects other cells and this
process continues to repeat.
• As the virus increases the number of T
cells decrease, which causes the
immune system to become weaker.
• The body becomes susceptible to
common infections and opportunistic
infections.
Opportunistic Infections –
infections that occur in
individuals who do not have a
healthy immune system.
HOW IS HIV TRANSMITTED??
HIV can be transmitted from an
infected person to an uninfected
person the following ways:
- blood
- semen
- vaginal secretions
- breast milk
STAGES OF HIV
HIV develops In stages over the course of several years.
1. Asymptomatic stage – during this
period, the HIV infected person has no
symptoms. (6mths – 10 yrs)
2. Symptomatic stage – symptoms
develop as a result of the drop in
immune cells.
3. AIDS – (acquired immune
deficiency syndrome) - the last
stage of the HIV infection. Infected
person has a severely damaged
immune system. The appearance of
opportunistic infections and other
illnesses is frequent