WHILE RUNNING FROM HIV/AIDS, take this Quick refresher of your STD knowledge...

 

Today, we stir our focus towards Sexually Transmitted Diseases or Infections commonly abbreviated as STDs or STIs. While we have a great population of people who still do not believe that HIV/AIDS is real, there are also those who also think less of the devastating consequences of contacting STIs.

Infections generally are health hazards which must be avoided as they lead to waste of useful financial resources and productive work hours.

STIs can also have serious consequences not only on physical health, but also on the psychological and social well-being of those infected. If left untreated, both chlamydia and gonorrhoea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause serious damage to women’s reproductive organs, and can in turn lead to infertility, as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes such as ectopic pregnancies.

Several STIs can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy and childbirth. Syphilis in pregnancy leads to approximately 305 000 fetal and neonatal deaths every year and leaves 215 000 infants at increased risk of dying from prematurity, low-birth-weight or congenital disease.

HPV infection causes over 500 000 cases of cervical cancer and over 250 000 cervical cancer deaths each year.

Infection with STIs can also increase the risk of acquiring infection with HIV. People who are living with HIV are also more likely to transmit the virus to a partner if they are also infected with another STI.

 

LIFE SAVING PREVENTIVE MEASURES

 

The promotion of healthier sexual behaviours, including increasing condom use and sexual health education for adolescents, is critical for STI prevention. Improving access to testing and treatment is also a crucial part of the response to STIs, for example, ensuring all pregnant women are tested and treated for syphilis. However, much more needs to be done – particularly in areas where people do not have access to testing, treatment and care services.

A safe and effective vaccine against HPV can prevent this infection and its devastating consequences. Increased investment in research and development for new STI vaccines is key to halting the spread of other STIs, such as genital herpes, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, and trichomoniasis.

 

HAVE YOU LEARNT ANYTHING HERE? IF YES, KINDLY DROP A COMMENT BEHIND...

 

 

Adapted from WHO's article on sexual and reproductive health: Global estimates shed light on toll of sexually transmitted infections (www.who.int)

 

Image source: thedoctorstv.com