Dr. Caron's Response:

Let me start off by saying there are nearly 15 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States and most (two-thirds) of those occurring among those younger than 25. Some researchers have estimated that, among sexually active college students, about one in three will contract an STD by the time they graduate. I also want to point out that the U.S. has the highest rate of STDs in the industrialized world - it is 50 to 100 times higher than other industrialized nations... WHY? Many people point to a lack of prevention efforts (i.e., lack of education about the diseases and low condom use). Not long ago, I heard a person from the Centers for Disease Control speak at a conference on this very issue. They said that an analogy for how the U.S. is dealing with this issue would be that they are screaming "FIRE!" and everyone is just sitting around ignoring them. It is an epidemic. Just think about the estimates of the number of cases: Chlamydia, with 3million new cases a year, is as common as the common cold. Trichomoniasis: 5 million new cases; Gonorrhea: 650,000 new cases; HPV which causes genital warts: 5.5 million new cases a year; Genital herpes: 1 million new cases; Hepatitis B: 100,000new cases a year; and Syphilis: 20,000 new cases a year. I should also point out that HIV is a very real and active problem on college campuses.

I am very concerned that things are only going to get worse before they can get better due to our current administration's "war on condoms" - which is trying to convince people that condoms do not work. Take for example what happened to the Centers for Disease Control website: A fact sheet on condoms was removed and, eventually, replaced by one that emphasized that condoms may not work. How could this happen in America - that such misinformation could be allowed to spread - despite cries from credible health organizations who know that condoms are our best defense against diseases? Until we take our collective heads out of the sand and really take a look at the seriousness of the issue, I don't see much hope for lowering the rates. By the way, such misinformation about condoms will lead to not only an increase in disease, but also an increase in pregnancy. Only when we are willing to educate young people about the seriousness of these infections, and encourage all people who are sexually active to use latex condoms every time, will we see a reduction in the numbers.