Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Global Threat

Introduction

Sexually transmitted diseases, commonly known as STDs, are diseases that are spread through sexual contact such as vaginal and anal intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, etc. From bacterial, viral, fungal, STDs have significantly increased over the last couple of years, making them a real potential threat to people worldwide. What makes STDs so alarming and harmful is that some of the diseases such as viral STDs are not curable, and while other STDs are curable if a person were to wait too long to treat the disease it could still do some damage to you. From symptoms that are undetectable to symptoms that are life threatening, yearly exams should help detect them. Another thing that makes STDs so alarming is that in addition to being subjected to the symptoms of a particular disease, you are now more vulnerable to attracting other types of STDs, this is why full screenings should be offered to patients whenever they start a new STD exam. It’s extremely important to know how sexually transmitted diseases are formed, how they are spread, what symptoms could be present, what methods of testing could be done to detect the STD and how to treat the disease. With STDs being a common knowledge, the percent of people affected by STDs could likely decrease in the next 20 years.

Genital Chlamydia

Bacterial sexually transmitted diseases such as C.trachomatis, commonly known as genital chlamydia, has increased over the last 10 decades. C.trachomatis has increased significantly due to the risk that people take by having multiple sexual partners and by having unprotected sex. As of right now, C.trachomatis is the most common STD in the world, particularly affecting young adults between the ages of 16 and 24. When it comes to C.trachomatis more women are affected by this sexually transmitted disease than men are. Making sure that everyone has knowledge about how bacterial STDs, such as C.trachomatis are formed and spread will help people be more aware of this disease and how to prevent themselves from being affected by it. C.trachomatis is the name of the bacterium that causes chlamydia. The cell cycle of C.trachomatis is made up of two stages: the elementary body and the reticulate body. The elementary body is similar to a spore and allows bacteria to persist. Due to the production of glycogen, the elementary body then turns to the reticulate body. Then the reticulate body takes up 2-3 hours to divide itself through binary fission. The reticulate body then spends 7-21 days in incubation inside the host. Ultimately the reticulate body then once again turns back to the elementary body and releases. This type of bacterium targets the cells of the mucous membranes when it comes in contact with infected semen and/or secretions.

Symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people show no signs or symptoms of the disease, while others see it usually one to two weeks after being exposed to C.trachomatis. If symptoms are present they are typically mild, making C.trachomatis a STD that can be easily undetectable. Symptoms of C.trachomatis include: pain during intercourse, pain or burning while peeing, and abnormal genital discharge. There are several different ways to diagnose C.trachomatis, but the most common tests include urethral swabs in men and vaginal swabs in women. Although C.trachomatis affects both men and women, women tend to be the ones that could be more severely affected if not treated properly.

Fortunately, C.trachomatis can be easily treated by taking some antibiotics but it’s recommended that a person abstains from any type of sexual act for about 7 days after taking the antibiotics. Although being re-infected with chlamydia is common, a person can prevent this by getting a check-up 3 months after the treatment and by using male latex condoms every time sexual intercourse occurs.

Genital Herpes

Unlike C.trachomatis which is curable with treatments, herpes simplex virus is a life-long viral disease. Herpes simplex virus, more commonly known as genital herpes, is an extremely high-risk disease that can potentially lead to death.

Genital simplex virus is caused by HSV-1 and HSV- 2, the latter being the most common type of genital herpes that affects at least 50 million people in the United States. Although HSV-2 is more common, recently there has been an increasing percentage of people that are infected with HSV-1, particularly younger people. This virus spreads through unprotected sex and through birth if the person giving birth is already infected. A person infected with genital herpes can even infect another person through asymptomatic shedding, when a person shows no symptoms and is unaware of having the virus.

Herpes simplex virus is a chronic lifelong infection that enters the host sensory neurons and replicates itself in the epithelial cells. When the virus matures, its structure is composed of four types of components. Going from the core outward: HSV has an opaque dense core that is made up of a linear double stranded DNA, the HSV genome is also encapsulated within an icosahedral capsid, capsid is then surrounded by a tegument or protein layer. Lastly, an outer envelope that contains 16 membrane proteins.

Even though a person shows no symptoms of genital herpes, a person should always be attentive of getting a check-up if they engage in sex frequently. Once a person is infected with herpes simplex virus the symptoms can range from multiple extremely painful lesions on their genitals to asymptomatic shedding as previously mentioned. Typically with HSV-1 asymptomatic shedding is common. Other symptoms of herpes simplex virus includes: fever, headache, and malaise. Unfortunately, there isn’t a cure or treatment that can eliminate genital herpes.

Although this virus is viral, there are some treatments that can be done to temporarily relief the pain of genital lesions. Systemic antiviral drugs can help a person control their symptoms of herpes. Drugs such as Acyclovir and Famciclovir can be taken from 7-10 days. A person can continue this treatment past the 10 days if lesions are not resolved. If recurrent genital herpes is an issue, then suppressive therapy is recommended. This type of therapy reduces the frequency of herpes by 80% and reduces transmission. In addition to Acyclovir and Famciclovir, Valacyclovir is also taken in this treatment.

Genital Candidiasis

Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to a type of yeast, or candida. candidiasis, or more commonly known as yeast infections, is an extremely common type of infection. Yeast infections are the second most common type of vaginal infection in the United States. Approximately 1.4 millions of women have vaginal yeast infections annually. Candidiasis can be transmitted through sexual contact and through other methods such as hormonal contraceptives, antibiotics, weakened immune systems, and even the type of underwear a woman wears. Candidiasis is extremely common and it also tends to be harmless. Obviously, a person should always be cautious of their symptoms, anything out of the ordinary should be checked by a doctor immediately. Yeast is a fungus that usually lives in the intestinal environment of a person’s body and it’s typically harmless, but when the yeast is exposed to various environmental factors it can end up causing it to become a candida.

A candida is an invasive type of yeast that can multiply rather quickly. It’s a unicellular structure that eventually becomes multicellular. It can take up to 24 hours for this candida to multiple and spread once it colonizes. This candida can multiply to over 1000 species of yeasts, but only about 150 actually manage to survive inside the human body. There’s different types of structures in an invasive candida. These structures, or colonies, can be smooth or wrinkled. One of these colonies can be smooth and white. The other colony is shaped like a flat and gray rod. As the candida becomes multicellular, it creates a biofilm. This biofilm is composed primarily of cellulose, but it can also contain polynucleotides, polypeptides, and fibrinogen. The structure that the candida takes also depends on environmental factors.

Symptoms for vaginal yeast infection include: abnormal discharge, itchiness and/or soreness, pain when urinating and/or during sexual intercourse. Although this infection tends to be mild compared to other STDs, there are some women that do develop more severe symptoms such as swelling and cracks in the vaginal wall.

In the most part, Candidiasis is easily treatable with antifungal medicine. Treatments include antifungal topical medicine applied inside the vagina or a single dose of Fluconazole taken orally. For more severe symptoms, boric acid, nystatin or flucytosine, might be applied inside the vagina.

Conclusion

Chlamydia, herpes, and vaginal yeast infections is not a common topic amongst people, most likely because it’s a rather uncomfortable topic. Yet many people don’t even know the differences between bacterial, viral, and fungal sexually transmitted diseases. Bacterial and fungal STDs such as Chlamydia and yeast infections are curable with proper treatment such as taking a specific pill or applying a certain cream. But a person should know the signs and symptoms of these STDs so that they can be treated, although in some cases they won’t show any signs of a disease. This is where a regular check-up at the doctors should take place, especially if a person is sexually active.

Viral STDs such as herpes tend to show more aggressive signs. Lesions on the genitals make herpes an extremely painful disease that isn’t curable, only maintainable. Due to different types of treatments a person with genital herpes will be able to treat only the lesions, but not cure the disease. It’s essential that everyone is aware about all the different types of sexually transmitted diseases: bacterial, viral, and fungal. One of the reasons why the rate of people contradicting these diseases is increasing is because of the lack of knowledge that they might have regarding STDs. Although most might be aware that unprotected sex could potentially lead to a person getting an STD, most people aren’t aware of the other ways they could contradict it. Making proper sex and health education a priority in high school and college could help the next generations lower that increasing rate.

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