Whereas sexually transmitted infections (referred to in
this preamble as STIs
) (also commonly known as sexually
transmitted diseases, or STDs
) are a major public health
challenge for the United States in economic and human terms;
Whereas the United States has the highest rate of people
with STIs in the industrialized world, with an estimated 19,000,000 new cases
occurring each year;
Whereas each year, approximately ½ of the new cases of
STIs occur in young people between the ages of 15 to 24;
Whereas all people of the United States have an interest
in STIs because every community is impacted and everyone pays for the cost of
the infections, either directly or indirectly;
Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (referred to in this preamble as CDC
), STIs impose a
tremendous economic burden on the United States, with direct medical costs for
treating STIs as high as $15,900,000 per year;
Whereas in 2008, the CDC estimated that 1 in 4 young women
between the ages of 14 and 19 in the United States, or 3,200,000 teenage girls,
and nearly 1 in 2 African-American young women are infected with 1 or more of
the most common sexually transmitted infections, including the human
papillomavirus (referred to in this preamble as HPV
), chlamydia,
herpes simplex virus, and trichomoniasis;
Whereas in 2010, CDC data indicated that 1 in 6 Americans
between the ages of 14 and 49 years old are infected with type 2 of the herpes
simplex virus, a lifelong and incurable infection, and that of the group of
infected Americans, African-American women were the most affected group, with a
prevalence rate of 48 percent;
Whereas poverty and lack of access to quality health care
exacerbate the rate of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus
(referred to in this preamble as HIV
) and other STIs;
Whereas men who have sex with men continue to be
disproportionately impacted by STIs, accounting for 63 percent of all syphilis
cases in 2008 as compared to only 4 percent of STIs in 2000;
Whereas racial disparities in rates of STIs are among the
worst health disparities in the United States for any health condition;
Whereas most STIs have been associated with increased risk
of HIV transmission and are likely contributing to the ongoing HIV epidemic in
the United States;
Whereas the CDC reports that the 2 most common STIs among
young women are HPV, with 18 percent infected, and chlamydia, with 4 percent
infected;
Whereas the long-term health effects of HPV and chlamydia
are especially severe for women and include infertility and cervical
cancer;
Whereas vaccination, screening, and early treatment can
prevent some of the most devastating effects of STIs;
Whereas high STI infection rates in the United States
demonstrate the need for better ways to reach the individuals most at risk for
infection;
Whereas the CDC recommends—
(1)annual chlamydia
screenings for sexually active women 25 years of age and younger;
(2)HPV vaccination
for girls and women between the ages of 11 and 26 who have not been vaccinated,
or who have not completed the full series of shots; and
(3)screening for
HIV, syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea at least once a year for men who have
sex with men and who are not in a long-term, mutually monogamous
relationship;
Whereas chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease,
chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and tubular pregnancies, which can affect the
health and well-being of a woman throughout her lifetime;
Whereas STIs can be transmitted from infected mothers to
infants during childbirth and can cause severe health consequences in the
infants;
Whereas STIs often cause social stigma and may have a
serious psychological impact among the individuals who are infected;
Whereas people protect themselves against STIs through
participation in programs that provide comprehensive and medically accurate
health information and screening and treatment services, including title X of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) and the STI prevention
program of the CDC;
Whereas school-based STI screening programs have been
highly successful in cases in which the programs are implemented and are
effective at preventing the spread of STIs among adolescents;
Whereas the sexual and reproductive health needs of men
must be more thoroughly recognized and better addressed by the public health
and medical provider community in order to more effectively combat the spread
of STIs;
Whereas STI programs in State and local health departments
that are funded through the Division of STD Prevention of the CDC are the
frontline of the defense of the United States against the spread of
STIs;
Whereas STI screening, vaccination, and other prevention
strategies for sexually active women should be among the highest public health
priorities; and
Whereas the CDC observes April as “National STD Awareness
Month”: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)designates April 2010 as “National STD
Awareness Month”;
(2)encourages the
Federal Government, States, localities, and nonprofit organizations to observe
the month with appropriate programs and activities, with the goal of increasing
public knowledge of the risks of sexually transmitted infections (referred to
in this resolution as STIs
) and protecting people of all
ages;
(3)recognizes the
human toll of STIs and the importance of making the prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of STIs an urgent public health priority;
(4)calls on all
people of the United States to learn about STIs and the prevention approaches
recommended for STIs; and
(5)encourages all
sexually active individuals to get tested for STIs and to seek appropriate care
if infected.