Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Trichomoniasis

The spectrum of sexually transmitted diseases includes the classic venereal diseases – gonorrhea, syphilis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale – as well as a variety of other pathogens known to be spread by sexual contact (Table Sexually Transmitted Diseases). Common clinical syndromes associated with sexually transmitted diseases are listed in Table Selected Syndromes Associated with Common Sexually Transmitted Pathogens.

Genital herpes: diagnosis, treatment

The term herpes is used to describe two distinct but antigenically related serotypes of herpes simplex virus. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (Herpes Simplex Virus-1) is most commonly associated with oropharyngeal disease; type 2 (Herpes Simplex Virus-2) is most closely associated with genital disease.

Chlamydial sexually transmitted diseases

An obligate intracellular membrane-bound prokaryotic organism, chlamydia trachomatis causes an estimated 3 million new sexually transmitted infections in the US each year. The estimated cost of chlamydia STDs in 1994 was $2 billion per year in the U. S., largely due to costly complications such as PID, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Studies indicate that 75-90% of women and 50-90% of men with chlamydial STD are asymptomatic.