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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released data Wednesday revealing that 20 million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are diagnosed each year nationwide, costing some $16 billion in taxpayer funds. Half of the 20 million new infections affect people ages 15 to 24 - who only make up a quarter of the population,l according to the statistics. Human papillomavirus (HPV) tops the list as the most common infection followed by chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis B, HIV and trichomoniasis.

You might enjoy how a reporter handles a drunk *itch from San Francisco who is interrupting her TV report.

Pictures, If You Can Stand It. Health officials say they're worried that one day there will be no more antibiotics left to treat gonorrhea. There's some disturbing news out today about a disease we don't hear about much these days: gonorrhea. Federal health officials announced that the sexually transmitted infection is getting dangerously close to being untreatable. As a result, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines for how doctors should treat gonorrhea. The guidelines are designed to keep one of the remaining effective antibiotics useful for as long as possible by restricting the use of...

Anti-Prostitution Posters, World War II Emphasizing the relationship between patriotism, morality, health preservation, and disease prevention, images of the infected soldier and disease-carrying prostitute in posters during the First and Second World Wars came to symbolize both moral failure and social decay. The following posters use images of "loose" women, patriotic iconography, and frightening symbols to grab the attention of the viewer and inspire behavior modification. These images not only reflected attitudes, values, and beliefs about the causes and consequences of venereal disease but also affected responses to the problem. (Note: Most these photos link back to Retronaut; added are...

Both the WHO and the CDC say it's time to "sound the alarm" on the increase in drug-resistant gonorrheaFirst, it was the Centers for Disease Control—now, the World Health Organization is warning that Gonorrhea could join herpes and HIV/AIDS as "uncurable" sexually-transmitted diseases. "We're sitting on the edge of a worldwide crisis," says Manjula Lusti-Narasimhan, of WHO's department of reproductive health and research. "There's a general complacency around sexually transmitted infections in general, and this doesn't have the same political or social pressure as HIV. That's because gonorrhea has been so easily curable so far, but in the future, that...

(CNSNews.com) – By the time they leave elementary school, children should be able to “define sexual orientation,” and by the eighth grade be able to “define emergency contraception and its use,” according to a report containing controversial new recommendations for sex education in U.S. public schools. “Ideally, comprehensive sexuality education should start in kindergarten and continue through 12th grade,” says the “National Sexuality Education Standards” report, drawn up by a range of advocates, academics and public education officials. The Future of Sex Education (FoSE), an initiative started by sex education advocates, developed the standards “to create a strategic plan for...

Guatemalan prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients who were intentionally exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, without their knowledge or consent, by U.S. researchers in the 1940s, cannot sue the United States argued the Obama Administration on Monday, no matter how shameful and unethical the studies were. In its first response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of the experiment's subjects, the Justice Department late Monday said sovereign immunity protects federal health officials from litigation stemming from the study. The experiment conducted in the 1940s exposed Guatemalan civilians to test the effects of penicillin. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham...

Running toward a dream of a lifetimeWhen I tested positive for HIV in 1994, I never would have imagined an AIDS-free generation to be possible in my lifetime. I also didn't think I would live past 35.And yet, I am 42 years old today and we have arrived at the precipice of that dream. With recent medical advances, and the promise of more soon to come, an AIDS-free generation is possible. Achieving this goal, as eloquently outlined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this month, would save millions of American dollars and countless lives around the world. The question...

Occupy Wall Street protesters are flocking to nearby health clinics for testing for sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV, after getting their freak on in 1960s-style hookups with crusty strangers, sources said. "Last week was free love," a medical professional at a nearby clinic said, referring to the number of people who organizers referred for STD testing. A volunteer at Zuccotti Park admitted concern among protesters about STDs. "We give directions to clinics if people ask for information regarding STDs," the volunteer, who identified himself only as "Captain," said, adding that pregnancy tests are also a hot item.

That's right. The "Republican take" was none other than uber-ditz Meghan McCain. TOTALLY! Among her pearls of wisdom: "Mitt Romney is, like, the most experienced candidate. He will be the nominee, and it's time that people learned to just deal with it." "We are going through each nominee one at a time like when you're...speed dating". "Herman Cain has never held public office before, and I find that, like, so disturbing". "Romney...Mitt..Romney...the best...Romney...." (ok I skipped the rest because I couldn't take it)

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez Los Angeles, Calif., Oct 11, 2011 / 11:36 am (CNA).- Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez joined the California Catholic Conference in criticizing a new law that allows 12-year-olds to receive vaccinations against sexual diseases without their parent’s permission. “Parents bear the first responsibility for their children’s physical and spiritual well-being. This new law, however, bypasses parental involvement, wisdom and guidance,” said Archbishop Gomez in his Oct. 10 response to Governor Jerry Brown's decision to sign the vaccination proposal into law. The new law, which Brown authorized on Oct. 9, allows children as young as...

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed controversial legislation to greatly expand the rights of minors to obtain preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent, including an HPV immunization for cervical cancer. Brown did not explain his reasoning in the announcement Sunday afternoon. Assembly Bill 499 was carried by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. She said the legislation addresses a gap in the law that forbids prevention steps by doctors but allows minors under 18 to undergo abortions and post-infection treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without the approval of parents or a guardian. Critics counter the measure is an unwarranted...

There was a time when having sex with a woman meant a wedding ring, a court ship or at the very least, dinner. But social psychologists say those days are quickly coming to an end as women become more promiscuous, Yahoo Shine reports. -snip- Other things that are said to have contributed to these changes include gender equality, birth control and internet porn.

Bear with me, this isn’t a “sound bite” subject. The Human Papilloma Virus is an infection, and should not be a moral issue. In contrast, the vaccine against four strains of the virus, Gardasil, has become a political issue, even though the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now recommends it for all boys and girls. Governor Rick Perry has been criticized for his February, 2007 Executive Order that made the vaccine mandatory for girls before entering the 6th grade. Very little is said about the part of the EO that affirmed the right of and facilitated parents who wish...

The Florida Legislature has sometimes been a bit shy when it comes to discussing sex. A state representative was chastised last session for using the word "uterus" on the house floor, and lawmakers recoiled at debating a recent bill to ban bestiality, because children sometimes attend their hearings. But their failure to be more explicit has now crippled a law aimed at protecting people from being exposed to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. In 1997, Florida legislators made it a felony for an HIV-infected person to have "sexual intercourse" without informing the partner of their infected status, adding the...

A new strain of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea has become resistant to antibiotics, international research shows. Analysis of the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea found a new variant which is very effective at mutating. Scientists from the Swedish Reference Laboratory warn that the infection could now become a global threat to public health. New drugs to delay the spread of the infection are needed, experts say. The first case of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea was found in Japan. By analysing this new strain of neisseria gonorrhoea, called H041, researchers identified the genetic mutations responsible for the new strain's extreme resistance to all...

Johns Hopkins expert calls for testing and mandatory reportingA Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought. Screening is especially important because in many cases there are no symptoms. "We usually think of STDs as more prevalent in young people, but our study results clearly show that with trichomonas, while too many young people have it, even more, older...

ScienceDaily (June 1, 2011) — Gay young men in serious relationships are six times more likely to have unprotected sex than those who hook up with casual partners, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. The findings provide a new direction for prevention efforts in this population who account for nearly 70 percent of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in adolescents and young adults in the United States and who also have the highest increase in new infections. "Being in a serious relationship provides a number of mental and physical health benefits, but it also increases behaviors that put you at risk...

It's a personal story, but let it also serve as a public health rebuttal to the proposed ban on male circumcision that will be on the San Francisco ballot this November. San Francisco's ballot initiative would prohibit circumcision on all males under the age of 18. It would allow no religious exemptions, and it apparently gives no regard to the numerous studies demonstrating that male circumcision can substantially reduce—by more than 50%—the transmission of the HIV virus during sex. "Communities, and especially women, may benefit much more from circumcision interventions than had previously been predicted, and these results provide an...

Not only does Dominique Strauss-Kahn have to worry about a possible prison sentence, but now he also has reason to be concerned about coming into contact with the HIV/AIDs virus. The alleged victim of the IMF chief's sexual assault lives in a Bronx apartment rented exclusively for adults with HIV or AIDS. The hotel maid is a West African immigrant, and has occupied the fourth floor of the building with her 15-year-old daughter since January. Before that, she had lived in another apartment since 2008 that was set aside by Harlem Community AIDS United for adults with the virus and...