Lecture 16 - STIsWi18.pptx - Sexually Transmitted Diseases...

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Medical research has brought amazing advances in
the treatment of STIs – but there is still great
debate about how the battle against STIs should be
waged.
•
Differences rooted in moral opinions about
the nature and purpose of sexuality.
•
Has at times undercut the effectiveness of
these advances.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases
“Veneral Diseases”  now termed STIS
Syphilis as the archetypcal veneral disease. First
described in the 1490s…
Likely that Columbus or his crew mates brought the
disease to America.
Little sympathy for sufferers at the time – seen as
divine intervention for their sexual wrongdoing.
By 1918 – 1/22 Americans suffered from syphillis

Venereal Diseases Were Seen as Punishment
for Sexual License
•
Syphilis still exists in America today, but it is much
less common than in the past.
•
The history of AIDS has mimicked that of syphilis in
terms of its rapid spread, the initial lack of an
effective treatment, and the stigmatization of
affected individuals.

STIs Are Still Major Problems in the United
States
•
Nearly 20 million new STI infections occur in
the United States each year.
•
About half of these occur in 15- to 24-year-olds.
•
1 in 2 sexually active Americans acquire an STI
by age 25.
•
The United States has the highest incidence of
curable STIs of any developed country.

Incidence and Prevalence of STIs in the U.S.

Basic STI Facts

Basic STI Facts (Part 2)

Lice and Mites Are More of an Annoyance
Than a Danger
•
Pubic lice (“crabs”) are very small dark or tan-
colored flat insects with clawlike legs that
grasp pubic hair and gorge on human blood.
–
They lay eggs, or “nits,” which they glue onto hairs.
–
Nits hatch in about a week and repeat the cycle.
–
Itching is treated with over-the-counter insecticidal
lotions or shampoos containing permethrin or
pyrethrins (such as Rid) or the prescription
insecticide lindane.

Scanning electron micrograph of pubic lice

Film Clip

Lice and Mites Are More of an Annoyance
Than a Danger
•
Scabies is an infestation of parasitic mites that can be
transmitted both sexually and nonsexually.
–
Female mites dig tunnels within hairless layers of
skin and live for about 2 months, laying eggs every
few days.
–
Eggs hatch, return to the skin surface, mate,
burrow into the skin, and renew the cycle.
–
Infestation causes severe itching that can be
treated with topical application of permethrin
lotion.

A scabies mite (left) and a severe case of scabies rash (right)

Trichomoniasis Is Caused by a Protozoan
•
Trichomoniasis is an infection of the vagina or
male urethra and prostate gland caused by the
protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis .