What You Should Know About STIs

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What You Should Know About STIs

• Partnership for Environmental Education and Rural
  Health (PEER)
• http//peer.tamu.edu)
• Texas AM University

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What is an STI?

• STI stands for sexually transmitted infection.
• Sometimes an STI is referred to as an STD, a
  sexually transmitted disease.
• An STI is a disease that is passed from one
  person to another through sexual activity.
• Some STIs can be transmitted through nonsexual
  means as well.

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What causes an STI?

• STIs, like other diseases, are caused by
  microscopic organisms that are not normally in
  your body.
• They can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or
  parasites.

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Why Is This Important?

• STIs can cause a variety of symptoms, from
  discomfort, to permanent bodily damage, to death.
• AIDS, an STI, is the leading cause of death
  worldwide among those age 15-59.
• STIs can be passed from a pregnant mother to her
  child.

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How can I avoid getting an STI?

• Be safe and be smart!
• Avoid unsafe situations
• Educate yourself about STIs

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Ready to learn more?

• The following slides will tell you more about
  specific STIs.
• See if you can spot any general trends.

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Bacterial STIs
A photomicrograph of the bacterium that causes
syphilis. Courtesy of the CDC Public Health
Image Library
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Chlamydia

• Caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis.
  (note bacterium is the singular form of
  bacteria)
• Symptoms (primarily in males, appear 1-3 weeks
  after infection)
• genital discharge
• painful urination.
• Can be cured with antibiotics.

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Chlamydia

• Can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, which
  can cause infertility in women.
• 3 million new cases a year (the most common
  bacterial STI).

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Chlamydia
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
This is a picture of the bacteria that cause
chlamydia, taken using a light microscope.
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Gonorrhea

• Caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
• Symptoms (primarily in males, appear 1 to 14 days
  after infection)
• genital discharge
• painful urination.
• Can be cured with antibiotics.

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Gonorrhea

• Can cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can
  cause infertility in women.
• 700,000 new cases in the U.S. each year.

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Gonorrhea
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
This is a picture of the bacteria that cause
gonorrhea, taken using an electron microscope.
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Syphilis

• Caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum.
• Can be cured with antibiotics, but any damage
  done to the body cannot be reversed.

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Syphilis

• Develops in three stages over several years
• (3-4 weeks after infection) a sore forms near
  genitalia or near the mouth.
• (2-6 months after infection) a red rash forms on
  the face hands, or feet.
• (later) serious brain and heart complications.
• About 32,000 cases in America every year.

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Syphilis
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
This is a picture of the bacterium that causes
syphilis, taken using a light microscope.
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Syphilis
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
These images show symptoms associated with the
various stages of syphilis. The picture on the
left shows a sore associated with primary
syphilis. The picture in the middle shows a rash
associated with secondary syphilis. The picture
on the right shows damage to the leg resulting
from tertiary (late stage) syphilis.
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Viral STIs
An electron micrograph of the human
immunodeficiency virus. Courtesy of the CDC
Public Health Image Library
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AIDS

• Caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
• Symptoms (do not emerge for several years)
• Fatigue
• rapid weight loss
• night sweats
• whitish coating on the tongue
• purplish growths on the skin.

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AIDS

• HIV attacks the immune system, making you
  susceptible to other infections and diseases.
• Antiviral drugs can slow the progress of the
  disease, but they cannot cure an infected person.
• 900,000 people are currently infected in the U.S.

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AIDS
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
On the left is a photo of HIV virus particles,
taken using an electron microscope. The patient
on the right has oral hairy leukoplakia, which is
caused by a different virus. People with AIDS
becoem more succeptible to this and other
infections, because AIDS attacks their immune
systems.
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Genital Herpes

• Caused by herpes simplex virus type 2.
• Symptoms include blisters and sores in the
  genital region that last for 1 or 2 weeks.
• Symptoms can disappear for long periods, but the
  virus never leaves the body.

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Genital Herpes

• Antiviral drugs can help control outbreaks of
  symptoms, but cannot cure an infected person.
• Affects at least 45 million Americans, with 1
  million new cases a year.

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Genital Herpes
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
This is a picture of herpes simplex virus
particles, taken using an electron microscope.
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Hepatitis B

• Caused by the hepatitis B virus.
• Symptoms
• yellow skin
• Fever
• loss of appetite
• Tiredness
• joint pain.
• Can cause severe liver damage.
• Can be prevented with a vaccine.

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Hepatitis B

• About 90 of adults who are infected with
  hepatitis will have no symptoms and will be cured
  automatically.
• The other 10 develop a chronic infection that
  cannot be cured.
• About 78,000 Americans are infected with
  hepatitis B each year, and there are 1.25 million
  Americans currently infected.

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Hepatitis B
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
On the left is a photograph of hepatitis B virus
particles, taken using an electron microscope.
The patient on the right has a distended abdomen
from a chronic hepatitis B infection.
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Human papillomavirus

• Caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).
• Some strains can lead to genital warts (symptoms
  usually do not emerge for 1-3 months).
• Some strains can lead to certain cancers.

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Human papillomavirus

• Warts are treated by applying a drug to the skin
  or by freezing the warts.
• About 20 million Americans are currently
  infected, and about 6.2 million Americans get a
  new infection every year.

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Parasitic STIs
A photo of the pubic louse. Courtesy of the CDC
Public Health Image Library
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Pubic Lice

• Caused by the insect Phthirus pubis.
• Symptoms
• itching in the genital region
• visible lice or eggs.
• Can be cured with insecticides

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Pubic Lice
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
On the left is a photo of a pubic louse (louse is
the singular form of lice). On the right is a
patient infected with public lice.
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Scabies

• Caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei (related to
  the spider)
• Symptoms
• Itching
• rash.
• Cured with insecticides

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Scabies
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
On the left is the mite that causes scabies. On
the right is a person infected with scabies.
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Trichomoniasis

• Caused by the parasitic protozoan Trichomonas
  vaginalis.
• Symptoms (usually occur only in females)
• genital discharge
• itching.

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Trichomoniasis

• Can be cured with drugs.
• About 7.4 million cases per year in the U.S.

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Trichomoniasis
Courtesy of the CDC Public Health Image Library
This is a picture of the parasite that causes
trichomoniasis, taken using a light microscope.
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Did you see any trends?

• See if you can answer the following questions
  before you look at the answers

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Can all STIs be cured?

• No. If an STI is caused by a bacterium or a
  parasite, it can usually be cured. If it is
  caused by a virus, though, it cannot usually be
  cured.

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Do all STIs show symptoms?

• No. Some STIs, like human papillomavirus and
  hepatitis B, only show symptoms in a small
  percentage of the people who become infected.
  Others, like chlamydia and gonorrhea show
  symptoms primarily in one sex and not the other.
  Even if an STI does not show symptoms, though, it
  can still be transmitted to other people.

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How do you know if you have an STI?

• The only way to be certain is to see a doctor.
  If you show any of these symptoms or if you have
  been exposed to any of these diseases, you should
  get yourself tested, since many STIs are
  treatable and even curable.

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Want to learn even more?

• Click on these links for more information
• Fact sheet from the National Institutes of Health
• Fact sheet from the Australian Medical
  Association
• Informative website from iwannaknow.org