110 million Americans have a sexually-transmitted disease.
Two studies published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases on Feb. 13 examined the rates of STIs in the U.S. and costs associated with treating them, by looking at data collected in 2008. Satterwhite’s study looked at overall rates of eight common STIS: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B, HIV, and trichomoniasis.
Researchers found there were about 110 million STIs in U.S. men and women that year, 20 percent of which — or 22.1 million — were in young men and women ages 15 to 24. Of those infections, 19.7 million were new that year, and half of them occurred in men and women under 24. Human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cancer, was the most common STI in terms of overall prevalence and newly reported infections.