Viruses Cause STDs
A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is a disease caused by a pathogen (e.g., virus, bacterium, parasite, fungus) that is spread from person to person primarily through sexual contact. STDs can be painful, irritating, debilitating, and life threatening. More than twenty sexually transmitted diseases have been identified. STDs occur most commonly in sexually active teenagers and young adults, especially those with multiple sex partners. An estimated 200 to 400 million people worldwide are infected—representing men and women of all economic classes. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the United States more than 13 million people are infected each year and more than 65 million have an incurable STD. The most common STDs in Miami are the same most common STDs in the United States, but the ratios are slightly different. The most common STDS in Miami are: H.I.V., Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Herpes, Infectious Syphilis and Genital Warts.
