Contracting STDs also makes it easier to contract HIV, Farley says, because they weaken the membranes that ward off the deadly virus. By next year, heterosexuals will be the highest risk group for contracting HIV, Farley says. Adolescents and young women are more susceptible to STDs than older women because development of the cervix is incomplete and especially sensitive to infection. Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease in young women, which, left unchecked, results in sterilization. Education is the key to treating sexually transmitted diseases, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association .
Education keeps the patients from having unprotected sex, which is how STDs are spread.
First, education of those at risk on ways to reduce the chance of infection. Second, identification of infected persons unlikely to seek diagnostic and treatment services. Third, effective diagnosis and treatment of infected persons.