HIV AIDS STD & STIs

Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, STDs & STIs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta estimate that about 12 million U.S. residents develop an STD each year, and that at least 50 percent of all people in the U.S. will develop an STD at some time before they are 35 years old. The STD that a person is likely to develop has to do with where they live as well as with whom they engage in risky sexual behavior. It also has to do with the characteristics of the organism causing the STD. Many factors contribute to the development and maintenance of STDs throughout the world - not just individual sexual behavior. There are many reasons why certain organisms are concentrated in certain geographic regions, and why certain sub- populations are at higher risk of getting an STD than others. Rural-to-urban migration, poverty, war, and lack of access to medical care or medicines are reasons why diseases explode within certain populations. While these issues exist worldwide, often they are more intense in tropical developing countries where there are fewer resources. There are types of specimens used clinical pathology.