April is STD Awareness Month

Health officials across the country are urging sexually active Americans to be screened for sexually transmitted diseases as part of STD Awareness Month in April. As many as one in three adults in the country are living with or will become newly infected with an STD this year. Among the most common STDs are human papillomavirus, chlamydia, and genital herpes. As many as 60 million Americans are infected with the genital herpes virus, with another 1 million becoming infected each year. Sexually active youth and adults also are being urged to be screened for HIV infection at least once a year, but preferably every six months. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials estimate that there are about 900,000 HIV-positive Americans, with about 40,000 becoming newly infected every year. To learn more about STDs, call the National STD Hotline at (800) 227-8922.