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Doctor: Increased STD testing and treatment should be a goal of healthcare

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In a presentation to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and reporters at National Press Club Wednesday, Dr David H Martin of the New Orleans School of Medicine said that sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise and a program of aggressive STD testing should be a component of American health policy in the future.

Besides a rise in chlamydia that has made it the most common infectious disease reported in the U.S. (2.8 million new cases per year), gonorrhea is developing multiple forms of antibiotic resistance and becoming more difficult to treat. As it is the second most common reportable infectious disease in the U.S. and also rising over the last few years, reduced treatment options could be a major problem.

In addition to increased rates of common diseases that are easily detected through STD testing, syphilis has bounced back from an all-time low rate of infection in 2000 to infection rates rivaling that of the syphilis epidemic of the 1980s. As the infection rate among women has grown, congenital syphilis - which can be devastating to a pregnancy - has also risen.