STIs

  • One in two sexually active persons will contract an STI by age 25.
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nearly 20 million new STIs occur every year in this country, half of those among young people aged 15–24.
  • Even though young people account for half of new STI cases, a recent survey showed only about 12% were tested for STIs in the last year.
  • CDC estimates that undiagnosed STIs cause 24,000 women to become infertile each year.
  • The total estimated direct cost of STIs annually in the U.S. about $16 billion.

HPV

  • Researchers estimate that at least 80% of sexually active people will have an HPV infection at some point in their lifetime.
  • CDC data for 2013–2014 show that about 42% of men and 40% of women aged 18-59 had genital HPV at that time.
  • HPV is responsible for approximately 31,500 cases of cancer each year, including nearly all cases of cervical and anal cancer, about 75% of vaginal cancer, 70% of oropharyngeal cancer, and 69% of vulvar cancer.

Herpes

  • Herpes infection is common. About 1 in 8 people aged 14-49 in the U.S. has genital herpes.10
    About 1 in 2 people ages 14-49 in the U.S. are infected with HSV-1, which is the typical cause of oral herpes. However, increasing numbers of genital herpes cases are caused by HSV-1.
  • Symptoms of genital herpes often go unnoticed. Most people with genital herpes—close to 90%—don’t know they have the infection.
  • Globally, researchers estimate that about two-thirds of the population under age 50—more than 3.7 billion people–are infected with HSV-1. Some 140 million people aged 15-49 are infected with genital HSV-1, primarily in the Americas, Europe and Western Pacific.

Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Syphilis

  • In 2015, rates of the three most common reportable STIs—chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis—reached a record high level. The approximately 1.5 million reported cases of chlamydia represent the highest number of annual cases of any condition ever reported to CDC.
  • While CDC and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend annual chlamydia screening for sexually active young women ages 15-24, fewer than half of eligible women are screened according the guidelines.
  • Young people ages 15 to 24 years old accounted for 65% of chlamydia diagnoses and 50% of gonorrhea diagnoses in 2015.
  • During 2014–2015, rates of syphilis in both men and women increased in every region of the country.
  • From 2013–2015, the reported gonorrhea infections increased each year. In 2015, a total of 395,216 cases were reported for a rate of 123.9 gonorrhea cases per 100,000 population.
  • In women, undiagnosed and untreated chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease. (PID). According to CDC, 1 in 8 women with a history of PID experience difficulties getting pregnant.

Hepatitis

  • CDC estimates that approximately 850,000 persons are living with hepatitis B in the U.S., although other studies have estimated this number to be as high as 2.2 million.
  • The rate of new hepatitis B infections has declined by approximately 82% since 1991, when routine vaccination of children was first recommended.
  • Untreated acute hepatitis B or C can develop into chronic hepatitis B or C infection which is more difficult to manage and can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and even death.

HIV

  • According to CDC, 1.1 million people in the US are living with HIV, and 1 in 7 of them don’t know it.
  • In 2015, 39,513 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the U.S. in 2015.
  • In 2013, an estimated 42% of Americans living with diagnosed HIV were aged 50 and older, 25% were aged 55 and older, and 6% were aged 65 and older.

Source: American Sexual Health Association