Definition

A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a disease transmitted through sexual contact between two people. They may be transmitted through the exchange of semen, blood, and other body fluids or by direct body contact. The term sexually transmitted disease applies to more than twenty different infections. At one time, these diseases were more commonly referred to as venereal diseases.

Description

Sexually transmitted diseases are very common medical conditions. In the United States, about 85 percent of the most common infectious diseases can be spread by sexual contact. The rate of STD infection in the United States is more than 50 times as great as that in other developed countries. Experts estimate that 1 in 4 of all sexually active Americans will get an STD at least once in their lives.

About twelve million new STD infections occur in the United States each year with teenagers between the...