Other common STDs

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Laboratory tests are available for all. Latex condoms, used properly, can prevent or greatly lower the risk of transmission of these diseases in most cases.

Gonorrhea

• Second most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease.
• Can infect the cervix, penis, rectum and throat.
• Easily cured with a single dose of antibiotic.
• In women, can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can cause infertility, chronic pelvic pain or a tubal pregnancy.
• In men, can cause pain in the testicles and lead to infertility.
• Caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, can increase vulnerability to HIV infection.
• About half of infected women and 10 percent of men have no symptoms. In both sexes, symptoms can include painful urination. Men may have a discharge from the penis. Women may have an unusual vaginal discharge, spotty bleeding between menstrual periods or after sex and lower abdominal pain.
• Last year, more than 1,350 cases reported in King County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 700,000 new infections a year in the U.S.

Genital herpes

• Caused by a virus — is a chronic infection that usually results in periodic outbreaks for life.
• First outbreak may include painful blisters or other sores on the penis, vagina, cervix, anus or buttocks.
• After that, remains dormant inside nerve cells until another outbreak, which can be blisters or sores or contagious "shedding" of virus not apparent to infected person.
• Outbreak frequency ranges from rare to many times a year, somewhat depending on type of virus, HSV-1 or HSV-2. Many recurrences may be very mild.
• Stress, illness or menstruation may lead to outbreaks, some patients say, but researchers say outbreaks probably occur randomly.
• Infection of a newborn can lead to lifelong disabilities or death.
• Certain prescription antiviral medications can speed healing and help prevent recurrences.
• Condoms prevent transmission most of the time but may not be entirely effective because they may not prevent all skin-to-skin contact.
• Makes HIV transmission easier.
• In King County, about 691 new cases of herpes were reported in 2003. Experts estimate 500,000 new infections a year nationwide.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

• Most types have no symptoms and cause no serious health problems, but some can lead to cervical cancer in women and anal cancer in men who have sex with men. Others cause genital warts.
• Can cause abnormal cells to develop, which in five to 10 years can lead to cancer. Women should have a Pap smear every one to three years and gay men should have regular anal exams. Surgery can remove the cancers both in women and men.
• Common skin warts, such as on the hands and feet, are caused by different HPV types and are not sexually transmitted.
• Believed to be the most common STD; experts say most sexually active people get at least one HPV, most without ever knowing it.
• Condoms may be somewhat effective.

Syphilis

• Untreated, can be fatal or lead to damage to the brain, heart, liver and bones. Can cause blindness, deafness, paralysis and mental problems.
• The same can occur to a baby infected during birth; pregnant women should be tested early.
• Sometimes there are no symptoms.
• An early sign may be an open sore, usually appearing on the penis, on the anus or labia or in the rectum, or vagina.
• About three months after infection, person may see spotty rash, often on the palms or soles of the feet; swollen lymph glands; fever; fatigue; patchy hair loss; weight loss and headache.
• Is curable with penicillin shots.
• Has increased in King County since 1997 to more than 150 cases expected this year. About 130 cases are expected in gay men and the rest in commercial sex workers, their clients and crack cocaine users.
• Makes it easier to be infected with HIV.

HIV

• Causes AIDS, has killed nearly 507,000 people in the U.S., including nearly 6,200 in Washington state.
• May be on the increase in King County, health officials worry. Some 6,000 to 9,000 are believed to be infected in the county.
• Commonly transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles used in drug abuse.
• Infected woman can transmit it to baby during childbirth or through breast milk, though drug treatment can make risk very small.
• Gradually destroys immune system, making body vulnerable to diseases it might normally be able to fight.
• Some people have no symptoms, but more than half of newly infected people have flulike symptoms two weeks to three months after exposure, including: persistent fever, night sweats, persistent rash, swollen glands (especially the neck, armpits and groin), sore throat and fatigue.
• Modern drugs keep many infected people alive longer, but there is no cure.
• In King County, about 79 percent of those infected are gay men, 6 percent were exposed through injection drug use and 7 percent through heterosexual contact, often with an injection drug user.

Sources: Public Health-Seattle & King County; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

— Warren King, Seattle Times medical reporter

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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