Screening for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

According to the 2010 CDC report, 19 million new gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and syphilis infections occur every year in the US costing our healthcare system $17 billion annually. The long term cost and consequences for patients are even greater. Each year, 24000 US women develop infertility due to untreated STDs. Untreated syphilis in pregnant women can result in congenital syphilis with infant death in up to 40 percent of cases. Untreated syphilis can also lead to cardiovascular complications and aortic aneurysms, syphilitic meningitis, meningovascular syphilis with infarctions, tabes dorsales and paresis, and gummatous syphilis which can affect any organ. African Americans are disproportionately affected by gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, especially young African American women. Hispanic men and women are also disproportionately more affected than white patients. The CDC speculates that lack of access to care in African American and Latino communities may delay testing or treatment – one in five African Americans and one in three Latinos are uninsured. Distrust of the medical system and language barriers may also affect access to care. Greater STD prevalence in African American and Latino communities also confers greater risk of infection, even with lower levels of risk behavior.