AIM To review the epidemiology of and data collection for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in South Africa. METHODS Literature published since 1980 on STDs in South Africa were complied and evaluated. Historical reports and salient unpublished literature were also used in the literature review. Studies were critically reviewed in the light of sample populations and study methods, and a ba...

Healthy vaginal microbiota is an important biological barrier to pathogenic microorganisms. When this predominantly Lactobacillus community is disrupted, decreased in abundance and replaced by different anaerobes, bacterial vaginosis (BV) may occur. BV is associated with prevalence and incidence of several sexually transmitted infections. This review provides background on BV, discusses the epi...

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) constitute an epidemic of tremendous magnitude, with an estimated 15 million persons acquiring a new STD each year [1]. Effective clinical management of STDs represents a strategic element in prevention of HIV infection and in efforts to improve reproductive and sexual health. Clinicians who evaluate persons with STDs or those at risk for STDs should be awar...

• The United States has the highest STD rates of any country in the industrialized world. 1 • There were an estimated 15.3 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the U.S. in 1996 the most recent year for which data are available. • This 1996 estimate is higher than previous estimates from the 1980s primarily because improved detection techniques have identified asymptomati...

From 1 January 1986 to 1 September 1989 124 women presented to the Ambrose King Centre (the department of genitourinary medicine of the London Hospital) alleging rape. Sexually transmitted diseases were found in 36 (29%) women (excluding candidosis and bacterial vaginosis). The commonest organisms detected were Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis, each being present in 15 patients. ...

Introduction Sexually active adolescents are the group at greatest risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections.' 2 The adverse sequelae that occur as a consequence of some of these infections are particularly devastating in the very young. Teenagers have their entire reproductive future at risk and jeopardise their fertility by infection. Chronic viral infections with long latent periods ...

Introduction STDs and travel: an ancient association Sexually transmitted diseases have been associated with travel, and indeed blamed on travellers (particularly foreigners) since they were first described. The history of syphilis in Europe illustrates this well. Within two or three years of its first description in Naples, the disease had apparently spread to virtually every corner of Europe,...

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can increase risk for acquisition and transmission of HIV via a number of mechanisms, including breaching of mechanical barriers to infection, increased inflammation and higher levels of HIV cellular targets, and increased genital tract HIV levels. Studies in Malawi clinic populations indicate that treatment of STDs can reduce genital tract HIV levels. Work ...

In June 2000, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), convened a workshop to evaluate the published evidence establishing the effectiveness of latex male condoms in preventing STDs, including HIV. A summary repor...

Singapore is a bustling cosmopolitan island city, situated at the southern tip of Peninsula Malaysia. It is 602 square kilometres with a population density of 3784 persons per square kilometre. The population is made up of Chinese (76 %), Malays (15 %), Indians (7 %), and others (20%). The distribution of the sexes in the population is equal except for Indians who still exhibit a migrant patter...