Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
G Ital Dermatol Venereol. 2012 Aug;147(4):329-40.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are as old as mankind and epidemics are mentioned already in the Old Testament. However, the perception of the conditions has changed over the centuries. In ancient times they were taken for an individual punishment for a blasphemic conduct of life or as a consequence of low sanitation and hygiene. In the medieval ages, the relation to sexual activities was recognized, but the diversity of clinical symptoms was seen as variations of one disease, depending on the stage of the disease and the general health condition of the diseased person. In the late 15th and 16th century a presumably "new plague" had been imported to Europe and was rapidly spread by soldiers. Misinterpretations of wrong experiments on the suspected identity of syphilis and gonorrhoea led to nosologic misconceptions in the 17th and early 19th century. The late 19th and beginning of 20st century due to the many achievements in microbiology and chemistry finally took the frightening threat from the STDs, which have terrorized millions of "normal" and "famous" people of all social classes over centuries and has been linked to many scandals. Moreover, the perception of STDs has turned from a "personal stroke of fate" into a collectively important issue of public health.
性传播疾病（STD）与人类一样古老，早在旧约中就有关于流行病的记载。然而，几个世纪以来，人们对这些疾病的看法已经发生了变化。在古代，人们认为这些疾病是对生活中亵渎神明行为的个人惩罚，或者是由于卫生条件差和卫生习惯不良造成的。在中世纪，人们认识到这些疾病与性活动有关，但由于临床症状的多样性，人们认为这些症状是一种疾病的不同表现，取决于疾病的阶段和患者的整体健康状况。在 15 世纪末和 16 世纪，一种据称是“新瘟疫”的疾病被传入欧洲，并迅速被士兵传播。对梅毒和淋病可疑身份的错误实验的错误解释导致了 17 世纪和 19 世纪早期的分类学误解。19 世纪末和 20 世纪初，由于微生物学和化学方面的许多成就，人们终于摆脱了性传播疾病的可怕威胁，这些疾病在几个世纪里一直困扰着各个社会阶层的数百万人，而且与许多丑闻有关。此外，人们对性传播疾病的看法已经从“个人命运”转变为公共卫生的一个重要问题。
