Sexually Transmitted Diseases Essay Example

chlamydia, syphilis, HIV and AID, and HPV. With this in mind it is important to note that transmission can occur non-sexually and be asymptomatic. This mean that STD can be transmitted though childbirth, breastfeeding, blood transfusion and or use of used needles or even occupational sticks and many times not cause any symptoms, remaining dormant in your body.

With the rise in incidence of prevalence cases just nationwide it is not wonder the CDC has been this decade to be the perpetrator of a STD epidemic that has and continued to affect the future of our country, infecting adolescents as young as 15 up to young adults aged 24 the most. Epidemiology studies the distribution and determinants of diseases, such as STD with in populations and has played an integral role in developing interventions such as patient education, and treatments such as vaccinations and healthcare services such as quarterly testing. Ultimately Public health officials and managers as well as epidemiologists and alike play an essential role in not solely increasing awareness but also the implementation of prevention and control interventions.

Gonorrhea and Chlamydia

Gonorrhea, also know as “the clap” is one of the most common sextually transmitted disease and is characterized as a bacterial infection of the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhea. The infection can be transmitted through oral, vaginal, and rectal sexual intercourse and can infect not one the genital area but also the anus/rectum, eyes, and throat. Symptoms differentiate between women and men m appearing to be more intense in men. Men symptoms include burning during urination, discolored genital discharge that resembles pus and painful, swollen testicules, and painful sexual intercourse. Women are commonly asymptotic and many times

infection is mistaken for a yeast or vagina infection but when symptoms are present these include burning during urination, surplus vagina discharge , continuous vaginal bleeding, itching, and soreness, fever, abdominal pain, and painful sexual intercourse. Unfortunately, infection can also cause long-term damages in both women and men to include pelvic inflammatory disease (PLD) and infertility and or issues conceiving, including ectopic pregnancy

On the other hand, another common sexually transmitted disease that is commonly diagnosed in coordinance with gonorrhea but completely different is Chlamydia. The infections is characterized as an infection of the parasitic bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. Similar to gonorrhea it is transmitted through sexual contact of an infected individual to include anal, vaginal, anal oral sex which means the bacteria is hoses and transmitted though bodily fluids such as semen and vaginal discharge and can infect the genitalia well as the eyes and throat.

Diagnosis of gonorrhea and chlamydia is quite easy and is usually conducted though the collections of cells through a urine test or a swab of the infected area. Treatment should start promptly following diagnosis. Given that gonorrhea is a bacterial infection is in one hundred percent curable. In order to prove the quickest and most effective treatment, it is recommended that providers treat infected individuals with a “dual therapy” injection to the buttocks of Ceftriaxone in combination with the oral administration of other antibiotics azithromycin or doxycycline. The full course of treatment must be completed once started in order or decreases the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant Gonorrhea The resistance occurs the bacteria resist the medication due to a change in the stain and neutralizes the antibiotic.

Though many chlamydia infected Indi duals remain

asymptomatic, the symptoms are similar to gonorrhea causing in both men and women panful urination, discolored and pus like discharge, itching, and abdominal pain. When left untreated the infection can also cause long term damage to the cervix and urethra, and cause infertility and sterile . Interestingly the bacteria infections have targeted women more than men causing not only fertility issues but also playing an integral role in birth abnormalities such as blindness in infants. Given that chlamydia is the also a bacterium its treatment regimen is similar to gonorrhea as it includes prescribed azithromycin or doxycycline to span over a week.

Due their similarities and the ease in which they are contacted Chlamydia and gonorrhea have similar reference populations nationwide where case reporting appears to be the most prevalent in 14-24 years old, who account for roughly two/third of the new cases in the pass two years in a row.

Gonorrhea is considered the second highest reported communicable disease, and with that there is a plethora of information available regarding incidence of cases. According to the CDC, in 2017 alone there was a total of 555,608 cases of gonorrhea were reported in the United States that translates into an incidence rates of 171.9 cases per 100,000 population. Of these cases as noted in figure 1 ( CDC, 2017), the South had the highest case reporting, with an incidence rate of 194.0 cases per 100,000 population. Narrowing the reporting down to the state of Florida, the incidence rate is highest Broward, Miami-Dade, Duval, Orange, and Hillsborough counties.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites that , Chlamydia, in contrast surpassed gonococcal cases as it is number one

most reported communicable with over 1.7 million cases (520 cases per 100,000 people ) nationwide in 2017 alone and has actually comprised the majority of sexually transmitted disease cases in over two decades. Just as with gonorrhea the geographical region of the United States that accounts for highest number of reported cases is the south . In 2017 Florida specifically Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange Hillsborough, then Palm beach county has the high count of cases however in my current county of residence, Leon county ranked the highest with over 3,344 cases out of reference population of 291,879 people resulting in an incidence rate of 1,145.7 per 100,000 population.

Gonorrhea and Chlamydia are both bacterial infections that have been the primary culprits in the United States, inciting the need for highly effective prevention and control measures facilitated by education and access to efficient health service. These interventions are created and managed healthcare mangers. Data and other useful information gain from field epidemiology provide these managers with the tool, principles, and ideologies, and tenable them to make better- and well-informed decisions in relation to the managmnement of the healthcare facilities that offer health services such as screening, treatment, and educational trainings for professionals and patients.

Syphilis

Syphilis is a bacterial infection caused by Treponema pallidum. It is unique to other STDs in that infections are passed though the direct contact with a chancre. The contact can be made from sexual activity ( anal, vaginal, or oral ) and even kissing where a chancre is existent. Diagnoses can only be confirmed by a physician by exam then a subsequent blood test as many times the infection can be unnoticed. Syphilis come in

stages with the first two occurring in the first few months ( primary and secondary ) the easiest to cure, the third or latent phase and the tertiary phase, the and most deadly stage Physician can detect infection though a physical exam of the genital area where chancres and or rashes would be present if infected. Given that is this yet another bacterial infection, the recommended and most effective treatment is antibiotics, more specifically, Benzathine penicillin that in administered by infection in either a single dose of over a few weeks. The treatment regimen is fairly simple and highly effective however if left untreated Syphilis can last for decades and cause permanent damage to the brain and nervous system and caused blindness and paralysis, and weaken the immune system allowing for the introduction of HIV and opportunistic infection.

As treatment for syphilis is highly effective and generally speaking very accessible, there are near as many cases as 65 years ago. The CDC reported that in 2017 there was an incidence rate of about 9.5 per 100,000 population of primary and secondary syphilis. A significant statistical difference from other STD such as chlamydia and gonorrhea syphilis is the most prevalent in the western United States as opposed to the south, infect more men then women and is are reported in individuals between the ages of 25-29 as apposed to 14-24 years old. According to the Florida Department of health and Vital Statistics (2017). the county that have the highest reporting are nearly completely different in comparison with other STDs with Gadsden county having the highest irate of 26.7 per 100,000 and Manatee, Hamilton, Union , and Orange

not to far behind

Once one of the most debilitating and deathly sextually transmitted disease, Syphilis has had a long histor[image: Figure 35. Line graph showing rates of reported cases of syphilis in the United States from 1941 to 2017 by stage of infection. Data provided in table 1. ]y, dating back hundreds of years, but most notably to the 20th century, following the end of World War II. Syphilis was a public health phenomenon that had public health officials and epidermolysis alike scrambling as reported cases increased to over 400 per 100,00 population ( Figure 3) . Though in the end of the19740Penicillin was deemed the recommended treatment, one of the most unethical research experiments in American history took placed during the 60s and 70s that changed the epidemiological research forever. The Tuskegee syphilis trials that experimented on syphilis infected farmer black men in varying stages by giving them placebo treatments instead of penicillin. This is the prefect example of misuse of epidemiological resources and information by officials and program managers. In place of using the information to aid in treated, poor decision was made that ultimately causes life-long disability as well as death in experiment participants . As managers in healthcare, information regarding treatments and new findings are provided to improve the quality and access to care, not inhibit. Just as healthcare providers have the moral responsibly to provide the best care possible to their patients, healthcare mangers also have the responsibility to use their knowledge to efficiently operate and manage program interventions and facilities , free of prejudices and biases, with all patient’s health in mind.

HIV and AIDS

In the late 1970s there was

an influx of reports of gay or bisexual men on the east and west coast of the United States become ill with pneumonia specifically PCP (,Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia) cancers like Kaposi sarcoma and lymphoma, cryptococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, and toxoplasmosis of the brain . These men were dying in droves and doctors, scientist, and epidemiologist alike were stomped. These infections seemed to have no basis for seemingly healthy men These illnesses were later termed opportunistic infections caused by a human immunodeficiency virus hat originated from a mutated virus in a West African species of chimpanzee.

HIV is characterized as an attack and destroys retrovirus that slowly anilities by invasion and replication the CD4 cells of the immune system. These CD4 cells or T cells are what protects the body from illness and when compromised , the immune system is vulnerable it is then that opportunistic infections come in. The virus eventually takes over and leave the body completely defenseless and progresses into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS with 10 years of infection or that can lead to death . HIV symptoms very however most individuals experience weight loss, rashes, fevers, chills, extreme m diarrhea, and fatigue in the early stages. HIV is transmitted through the contact or exchange of bodily fluids that include semen or pre-semen, vaginal fluids, blood, breast milk, and anal/rectal fluids. One of the most commonly modes of transmission of HIV, specifically in the United States is through sexual contact between hereto and homosexual individuals

Though HIV/AIDS has no cure, there is extensive treatment that allow individuals to maximize their remaining lifespan, live normal, heathier lives, and lower the risk of transmission. Antiretroviral therapy or

ART is the recommended and primary treatments used in infected individuals. It is comprised of regimen of medication that is taken daily and includes a combination of medication prescribed based off of viral load and can include nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors or NRTIs or integrase or protease inhibitors. The therapy acts as a catalyst and has the purpose of reducing the viral load of HIV in the blood that can effectively decreases the attack on T cells and build the immune system back up.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Service reports that there are about 37 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS with 1.7 million new cases in 2017. Within these cases there were 38,739 cases were in the United States. A majority of these cases were in individuals aged 25-34 as noted in figure 4 (CDC, 2017). Of these individuals 66% were men who had sex with men (bisexual and gay[image: Bar chart showing new HIV diagnoses in the US by age, 2017. 13 to 24=8,164; 25 to 34=13,433; 35 to 44=7,397; 45 to 54=5,735; 55 to 64=3,026; 65+=885.]). In terms of geographical distribution, the southern region takes the lead again with 16.1 incidence rate. For the state of Florida specifically according to the Florida out Department of Health in the same year, 2017 Miami-Dade county lead the states in HIV reported cases with 43.4 per 100,000 cases with Orange, Broward, Duval, and oscela not ot far behind, Remarkably, Leon county (my current county of residence) was not that far behind, coming in 9th place out of 67 counties, with a incidence rate of 22.3 per 100,000 population.