Anyone who has had or is having sexual intercourse or oral sex, or who has participated or is participating in sex play, is at risk for acquiring an STD/STI. Fortunately, it is possible for a person to decrease his or her risk by having protected sex and knowing his or her STD/STI status and that of his or her partner. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 19 million new cases of these reportable STDs/STIs (gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis) each year in the United States—almost half of them among young people 15 to 24 years of age.1
While not the most common STD/STI, HIV/AIDS is one of the most devastating and most well known. Recent data from the CDC indicate that 1.2 million Americans have HIV2:
- One in five is unaware that they have the virus.
- Approximately 50,000 Americans become infected with HIV each year.
- 17,774 people with AIDS died in 2009.
More information about the number of people who test positive for HIV/AIDS in the United States and the differences in these numbers for individuals from different cultures and backgrounds is available at the CDC website.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2010. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats10/surv2010.pdf (PDF- 8.19 MB) [top]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. (2012, March). HIV in the United States: At a glance. Retrieved June 3, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/PDF/HIV_at_a_glance.pdf (PDF - 348 KB) [top]