Inter-relationships between HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The HIV is a typical sexually transmitted disease (STD) agent which depends for its transmission through sex on contact between raw body tissues of infected and uninfected individuals independent of sexual inclination. The dynamics of HIV transmission and its control in a community can be inferred from studying the socio-cultural and epidemiological aspects of acute STD. There is strong evidence to suggest that the main cause of rampant heterosexual transmission of the HIV in sub-Saharan Africa in contrast to the rarer heterosexual HIV transmission in Europe and the USA is the high prevalence of ulcerative STD in Africa. Studying the trend and response to treatment of conventional acute STD are quick and indirect ways of assessing the impact of control measures against AIDS and HIV infection in an HIV endemic area. Further research is needed to determine the extent and detailed mechanism of interaction between HIV infection and other STDs as well as studying the efficacy of AIDS control through control of other STDs.