HIV and STD prevention programs in the United States, together with private and public sector partners, should take joint responsibility for implementing these strategies.ĬHAC also notes that early detection and treatment of STDs should be only one component of a comprehensive HIV prevention program, which also must include a range of social, behavioral, and biomedical interventions.HIV testing should always be recommended for individuals who are diagnosed with or suspected to have an STD.In areas where STDs that facilitate HIV transmission are prevalent, screening and treatment programs should be expanded. ![]() Early detection and treatment of curable STDs should become a major, explicit component of comprehensive HIV prevention programs at national, state, and local levels.HIV epidemic increasingly is affecting populations with the highest rates of curable STDs, the CDC/HRSA Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS and STD Prevention (CHAC) recommended the following: In the context of persistently high prevalence of STDs in many parts of the United States and with emerging evidence that the U.S. Better linkages are needed between HIV and STD prevention efforts nationwide in order to control both epidemics. Furthermore, STD trends can offer important insights into where the HIV epidemic may grow, making STD surveillance data helpful in forecasting where HIV rates are likely to increase. Strong STD prevention, testing, and treatment can play a vital role in comprehensive programs to prevent sexual transmission of HIV. What are the implications for HIV prevention? Among individuals with both herpes and HIV, trials are underway studying if treatment of the genital herpes helps prevent HIV transmission to partners.It is critical that all individuals, especially those with herpes, know whether they are infected with HIV and, if uninfected with HIV, take measures to protect themselves from infection with HIV. Herpes can make people more susceptible to HIV infection, and it can make HIV-infected individuals more infectious.Studies have shown that treating STDs in HIV-infected individuals decreases both the amount of HIV in genital secretions and how frequently HIV is found in those secretions (Fleming, Wasserheit, 1999). STD treatment reduces an individual's ability to transmit HIV.How can STD treatment slow the spread of HIV infection?Įvidence from intervention studies indicates that detecting and treating STDs may reduce HIV transmission. The higher the concentration of HIV in semen or genital fluids, the more likely it is that HIV will be transmitted to a sex partner. Moreover, the median concentration of HIV in semen is as much as 10 times higher in men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV than in men infected only with HIV. For example, men who are infected with both gonorrhea and HIV are more than twice as likely to have HIV in their genital secretions than are those who are infected only with HIV. Studies have shown that HIV-infected individuals who are also infected with other STDs are particularly likely to shed HIV in their genital secretions. STDs also appear to increase the risk of an HIV-infected person transmitting the virus to his or her sex partners. Additionally, inflammation resulting from genital ulcers or non-ulcerative STDs (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis) increase the concentration of cells in genital secretions that can serve as targets for HIV (e.g., CD4+ cells). These breaks create a portal of entry for HIV. Genital ulcers (e.g., syphilis, herpes, or chancroid) result in breaks in the genital tract lining or skin. STDs appear to increase susceptibility to HIV infection by two mechanisms. There is substantial biological evidence demonstrating that the presence of other STDs increases the likelihood of both transmitting and acquiring HIV. In addition, if an HIV-infected individual is also infected with another STD, that person is more likely to transmit HIV through sexual contact than other HIV-infected persons (Wasserheit, 1992). Individuals who are infected with STDs are at least two to five times more likely than uninfected individuals to acquire HIV infection if they are exposed to the virus through sexual contact. What is the link between STDs and HIV infection? An understanding of the relationship between STDs and HIV infection can help in the development of effective HIV prevention programs for persons with high-risk sexual behaviors. Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be an effective tool in preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The Role of STD Detection and Treatment in HIV Prevention - CDC Fact Sheet
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