CHICAGO — At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study.
Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing — 40 percent had an STD.
Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention.
Only about half of the girls in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet oral sex and other behaviors can spread some diseases.
The overall STD rate among the 838 girls in the study was 26 percent, or more than 3 million girls nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
The new CDC study is an analysis of national records on girls ages 14 to 19 who participated in a 2003-04 government health survey.
The teens were tested for four infections: human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer and affected 18 percent of girls studied; chlamydia, which affected 4 percent; trichomoniasis, 2.5 percent; and genital herpes, 2 percent.
Disease rates were significantly higher among black girls. Nearly half had at least one STD, versus 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-Americans.
HPV, the cancer-causing virus, can also cause genital warts but often has no symptoms. A vaccine targeting several HPV strains recently became available. The CDC recommends the three-dose HPV vaccine for girls ages 11-12 and catch-up shots for ages 13-26.
Chlamydia, which often has no symptoms but can lead to infertility, can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends annual chlamydia screening for all sexually active women under age 25. Trichomoniasis, also treatable with antibiotics, can cause abnormal discharge and painful urination. Genital herpes can cause blisters but often has no symptoms. It’s not curable but medicine can help.
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