A Primary Care Clinician’s Focus on Sexually Transmitted Infections in the Female Gender

New data suggest that certain sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been on the rise reaching record-breaking levels, even in the face of a global COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in STIs continues to be a significant public health concern. Newly diagnosed STIs, ongoing STIs, and successfully treated/naturally cleared STIs have all contributed to the overall health burden, specifically the serious health consequences of untreated STIs. The most current Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates include that ~20% of the US population, that is, ~one in five people, had acquired an STI in 2018. These estimates are crucial to understanding the STI epidemic but do not incorporate many infections that are undetected, unreported, and those that are asymptomatic. The CDC included the eight most common STIs in its analysis: chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B virus (HBV), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis, and trichomoniasis.