STD statistics

At least a quarter of teen girls have sexually transmitted diseases.  That's the alarming finding of a first-of-its-kind government study.

The Centers for Disease Control looked at girls 14 to 19 and one in four had a sexually transmitted disease.

They were tested for four diseases.  By far the most common was HPV, the virus that can lead to cervical cancer.  18 percent of girls had it.   The other STDs tested were chlamydia, trichomoniasis and herpes.
 
18-year-old Delicia Sims thinks she knows why STDs are rampant.

"Not using protection," Sims said. "Most girls don't care.  They have sex and don't think about using protection."

Girls and boys don't think about barrier protection by using male or female condoms and Dr. Daryl Lynch, an adolescent medicine specialist with Children's Mercy, said many don't really think about whether having sex is right for them in the first place.
 
"There's a lot of messages to teenagers that everybody's doing it when in fact everybody's not doing it," Lynch said.

Sims is getting the vaccine that can help protect her from HPV and cervical cancer.  It's become available since the study was done and doctors hope it will help lower the HPV rate in teens.  It's recommended for those 9 to 26.

Doctors' groups recommend screening for chlamydia in all sexually-active women under age 25. But many don't get the test because they or their doctors don't think they need it.

"If you are sexually active or have ever had sex of any kind, you should be screened for chlamydia at least once a year," Lynch said.

Lynch also said it's vital that parents make sure their teens, girls and boys, have regular doctors' visits.  And he said talk to them about sex and sexually transmitted diseases.

About half the girls in the study said they'd had sex.  Many define sex only as intercourse, but other behaviors including oral sex can spread some diseases including HPV.

Links:

CDC: 1 in 4 Teen Girls Has an STD

Factors Behind Head and Neck Cancer

STIs conditions fact sheet

HPV vaccine (Gardasil) fact sheet

Meryl Lin McKean, FOX 4 News

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