Preventive health services: Sexually transmitted disease control.

Over 10 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) occur annually, 86 percent of them in 15- to 29-year-olds. The most common STDs are trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, non-gonococcal urethritis, genital herpes, and syphilis. In 1950 the reported syphilis rate was 146 per 100,000. The rate decreased to 30 per 100,000 by 1978, resulting in approximately 80,000 new cases of syphilis a year. During the same time span the gonorrhea rate increased from 192 cases per 100,000 to 468 cases per 100,000. In each year between 1967 and 1976, reported cases of gonorrhea increased between 10 and 15 percent. Between 1976 and 1978 the annual increase was less than 1 percent, but the total number of case of gonorrhea still exceeded 2.5 million. In addition to the large number of syphilis and gonorrhea cases, 3 million cases of trichomoniasis, 2.5 million cases of non-gonococcal urethritis, and 500,000 cases of genital herpes occur annually. The most serious complications caused by sexually transmitted agents are pelvic inflammatory disease, sterility, infant pneumonia, infant death, birth defects, and mental retardation. There is clear evidence that both the quality of the services and the attitudes with which they are delivered are important in attracting those who need STD services. While existing programs are interrupting the transmission of syphilis and gonorrhea, many vulnerable groups are not yet being served. To approach them effectively will require not only the efforts of STD clinics and investigators but also those of family planning clinics, private physicians, diagnostic and public health laboratories, and schools and other educational institutions.