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BOSTON - It was reported last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that one in four teenage girls has an STD. More revelations are coming out now, as it seems that many teenage girls do not have all of the facts about sex and STDs to help them make the right choices. The results of the CDC report stated that just over one in four teenage girls has an STD, with around 50% of black girls having an STD, and 20% of Mexican-American girls, as well as white girls. It is clear that now more than...

Alternatives, a North Side youth agency, recently held three forums for teenagers ages 14 to 19. The series was called "Let's Talk about Sex." And talk, they did. In a co-ed forum, the teens pondered contraception. One well-meaning young man stood and said aluminum foil could be used in lieu of a condom. Other teens offered up myths such as the efficacy of plastic baggies, having sex while standing and bathing right after sex. Adults in attendance informed the students that none of those methods protected against unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control...

At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study that startled some adolescent-health experts. Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection of both abstinence-only sex education and teens' own sense of invulnerability. Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention. Only about half of the girls in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet other types of intimate behavior, including oral sex, can spread some diseases. Among those who admitted having...

At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study that startled some adolescent-health experts. Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection of both abstinence-only sex education and teens' own sense of invulnerabilty. Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention. Only about half of the girls in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some diseases. Among those who admitted having...

CHICAGO - Startling government research on teenage girls and sexually transmitted diseases sends a blunt message to kids who think they're immune: It's liable to happen to you or someone you know. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found at least 1 in 4 teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease. The most common one, HPV, is a virus that can cause cervical cancer, and the second most common, chlamydia, can cause infertility. Nearly half of the Black teens in the study had at least one sexually transmitted...

According to the AP, a CDC study found that 1 in 4 teen girls, aged 14 to 19, has a sexually transmitted disease. The infection rate among those who have ever had sex was 40%. African American teens had a higher incidence of infection - nearly half of them had at least one STD compared to 20% among whites and hispanics. This news isn't good - especially in light of the fact that black women accounted for 66% of HIV/AIDS diagnoses among women during 2005. This is troubling news to say the least. Despite the widespread availability of condoms -...

At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group. A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls — nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Among girls who...

CHICAGO - At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group. A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls — nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. About...

Shortly before the unexpected departure of Princeton’s top chief medical officer this summer, an investigation by the State of New Jersey revealed that since 2003, Princeton’s McCosh Health Center has failed to comply with state laws for reporting STDs. The state investigation, which involved a visit from a surveillance team and an official warning, was concealed from students and administrators. Vice President Janet Dickerson, who directly supervises the head of McCosh, did not learn of the state investigation until three months after it occurred. When a Tory reporter asked her to comment on the case she was caught unawares. “I’m...

There's an argument out there that oral sex is not sex. For some grown-ups, it's a way to deny that they're cheating. To some young people, oral sex preserves virginity—technically speaking—and allows for what is perceived as risk-free sexual intimacy. From a medical perspective, however, this is sex—and generally, as practiced, it's unsafe. People seem clueless that sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and human papillomavirus can take hold in parts of the oral cavity during sex with infected partners and that the oral contact can infect the genitals, too. HPV is a particularly scurrilous threat, since it...

The sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer in women is poised to become one of the leading causes of oral cancer in men, according to a new study. The HPV virus now causes as many cancers of the upper throat as tobacco and alcohol, probably due both to an increase in oral sex and the decline in smoking, researchers say. The only available vaccine against HPV, made by Merck & Co. Inc., is currently given only to girls and young women. But Merck plans this year to ask government permission to offer the shot to boys. Experts say a...

Bill Clinton was always famous for for his unusual refusal to release his medical records either while running for President or as President. Speculation as to the reason abounds and while there are suggestions that he was trying to cover up cocaine or alcohol abuse (he got that big red nose somewhere), the general belief is that he didn't want to reveal a succession of infections from sexually transmitted diseases (STD). You know, fun stuff like "the clap", "the drip", and "the itch", or more politely: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, hepatitis, HIV, and even crab lice. While that's not surprising...

At the cusp of an epidemic New data on HIV/AIDS in Cameron County reveals deadly inadequacies in the extent and frequency of local testing. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services the county had 742 confirmed cases of HIV and AIDS at the close of 2006. About half of the cases had advanced to AIDS. The data confirm that six times more Hispanics have HIV/AIDS than any other ethnic group in the county, where slightly more than 80 percent of the population is Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest figures. State statistics also show that three...

Ever had this happen to you? It's really kind of weird.

LONDON (AP) - Syphilis is back: The sexually transmitted disease long associated with 19th Century bohemian life is making an alarming resurgence in Europe. "Syphilis used to be a very rare disease," said Dr. Marita van de Laar, an expert in sexually transmitted diseases at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. "I'm not sure we can say that anymore." Most cases of syphilis are in men, and experts point to more risky sex among gay men as the chief cause for the resurgence. But more cases are being seen among heterosexuals, both men and women, too. Syphilis was...

Wild Bill Clinton drew his wife's battle-scarred campaign even further off track when he told interviewer Charlie Rose that Americans would be taking a "risk" by voting for close rival Barack Obama, saying the junior senator from Illinois wasn't ready to be president. "If you listen to the people who are most strongly for [Obama], they say basically we have to throw away all these experienced people because they have been through the wars of the '90s," Clinton told Rose for the PBS show that aired Friday night.

ATLANTA - In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials who had no immediate explanation. The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006. U.S. health officials said it was possibly a one-year statistical blip and not the beginning of a new upward trend. But several experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blame the increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only...

People who start having sex at a younger or older than average age appear to be at greater risk of developing sexual health problems later in life, a new study suggests. The findings, according to researchers, cast some doubts on the benefits of abstinence-only sexual education that has been introduced in U.S. public schools.Using data from a 1996 cross-sectional survey of more than 8,000 U.S. adults, the researchers found that those who started having sex at a relatively young age were more likely to have certain risk factors for sexually transmitted diseases (STD) -- including a high number of sexual...

Disease rate higher for those with U.S. clients, study says Female prostitutes in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez who catered to American “johns” had a 50 percent higher rate of syphilis or another sexually transmitted disease than those who didn't, according to a UCSD study. The women paid by American customers were younger and more likely to speak English than their counterparts, and they were more apt to inject drugs and have unprotected sex, said Steffanie Strathdee, chief of the international health division at the University of California San Diego. She wrote the report, which appears in the current edition of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington, D.C., has the highest rate of AIDS in the United States, and more babies are born with the AIDS virus in Washington than in other U.S. cities, according to a report released on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT People living in Washington also are not getting tested for HIV and show up with advanced infections that progress quickly to AIDS, the report by city health officials found. The report found that Washington, with a population of around 600,000 people, has a rate of 128 AIDS cases per 100,000 people in 2006, compared with a national rate of 14 cases...