Talk about sexually transmitted diseases is important to know the basic facts about STDs such as how it is transmitting,

its symptoms and its treatment, it is the first step towards its prevention, why investigators are still looking for new and better methods of diagnosis and more effective treatments that facilitate possible strategies for controlling this phenomenon as well as vaccines and topical microbicides to prevent STDs.

Sexually transmitted diseases, known as ETS, encompass multiple diseases that are spread through sexual contact, including oral, anal and vaginal contact (in some cases is sufficient contact between genitals for transmission skin-skin). They are produced by various infectious, such as bacteria or viruses. AIDS is included in this group of diseases.

Within the investigations that took place failed to find that the World Health Organization (who) estimates that 250 million new cases of STDs occur annually in the world. In the specific case of infection by HIV/AIDS, the number of people infected in 2004 has reached its highest level: it is estimated that during 2004, 4.9 million (10 every minute) new people have been infected and of these, nearly half are young people between 15 and 24 years. There are currently in the world 39.4 million people infected, nearly half being women (UNAIDS, 2004 report). In Europe, in the past 5 years has increased 112 percent the number of infected by heterosexual contact, which explains that STDs are also on the rise for this reason referred to some of these: HIV Infection and AIDS

AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was identified by first time in the United States in 1981. Is produced by HIV or human immunodeficiency

virus, a virus which destroys the body's ability to cope with infections. There are millions of people infected with HIV worldwide. People who have AIDS are very susceptible to many potentially serious infectious diseases, called opportunistic infections and certain cancers. Transmission of the virus primarily occurs during sexual activity and by sharing intravenous drug needles. Chlamydia (Chlamydia) Chlamydia (Chlamydia) This infection is now the most common STD of all those produced by bacteria. Both men and women, the ACOG can produce abnormal genital discharge and a burning sensation when urinating. In women, untreated ACOG can produce a pelvic inflammatory disease, which is one of the leading causes of pregnancy ectopic and infertility in women. Genital Herpes This ETS also affects many people each year. Genital herpes is caused by infection by the virus of simple herpes (HSV). The main symptoms of herpes infection are painful blisters or sores in the genital area. They can be preceded by a sensation of punctures or burning in the legs, buttocks, or genital region. The herpes sores usually disappear within two or three weeks, but the virus remains in the body for life and injuries can reappear from time to time. Women who are infected with genital herpes during pregnancy can transmit the virus to her son and untreated HSV infection in the newborn can lead to mental retardation and death. Genital warts Genital warts, also called condylomata acuminate or venereal warts, are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), a virus related to the virus that causes common warts of the skin. Genital warts usually appear as small lumps initially, hard and painless in the vaginal area or penis or around the anus. If left untreated, they can grow and develop a fleshy appearance,

resembling a cauliflower. In addition to genital warts, some HPV types cause high risk of cervical cancer and other genital cancers. Gonorrhea They are still many cases of gonorrhea diagnosed each year in our country. The most common symptoms of gonorrhea are vaginal discharge or penis and painful or difficult urination. The most frequent and serious complications occur in women, as with chlamydia, and among them are pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Historically penicillin was the treatment used against gonorrhea, but in the last decade there have been numerous resistances, so in these cases the treatment must employ new antibiotics or a combination of these. Syphilis The incidence of syphilis has increased and decreased drastically in recent years. Early symptoms of syphilis may not be detected since they are very mild and disappear spontaneously. The initial symptom is a chancre: an open ulcer not painful that usually appears on the penis or around or inside the vagina. It may also appear near the mouth, year or hands. Untreated syphilis evolves to more advanced States, where it appears a transient rash, and finally, a serious impairment of the heart and the central nervous system, which develops over years. Penicillin remains the most effective antibiotic for the treatment of people who have syphilis.

For this reason I consider important to mention other diseases that are categorized as STDs that can be transmitted sexually are tricomoniasis, bacterial vaginosis, cytomegalovirus infections and crabs (pubic lice).

STDs in pregnant women are associated with a poor prognosis, such as spontaneous abortion and infection of the newborn. A low birth weight and

prematurity appear to be associated with STDs like Chlamydia infection and Trichomonas. Congenital infection or valuer, namely around the time of birth, appears in 30-70% of infants born to infected mothers and among complications include pneumonia, eye infections and permanent neurological damage, hence the people who are more at risk of becoming infected with STDs are due to individual behavior as this, is the strongest determinant of the risk of getting an STD. These diseases are very common in people who sell sex, users of intravenous drugs and people with multiple sex partners. Male homosexuality is a greater risk because of their association with a more frequent change of partner and certain sexual practices such as anal intercourse, which produce small wounds in the year to facilitate the entry of microorganisms.

Thus women are especially vulnerable, since the transmissions of STDs are often easier for male to women than vice versa. In addition, for anatomical and/or physiological reasons they are more susceptible to develop genital cancer after infection with the Human Papilloma Virus and have more serious complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease. She has also been proven that is growing the number of women infected with HIV, reaching match almost with the number of men in 2004. We must not forget that it is also possible that pregnant women transmit disease to the fetus or the newborn at the time of childbirth, which can lead to serious consequences for the health of the newborn.

The increasingly early onset of sexual intercourse among adolescents has favored an increase of STDs in this group. Promiscuity and the specific characteristics of adolescent genital epithelium facilitate the acquisition of these diseases. In a scientific study, conducted on a group of initially healthy college women, showed that after 3 years, about 50% newly infected with the human papilloma virus (one of the risk factors for the development of cervical cancer) and in several of the

students have had even without full sexual relations, because this virus is transmitted by skin-skin contact, as mentioned above.

There are other social, cultural and health care, along with individual behavior, determine the risk of acquiring an STD:

In many cases the initial symptoms that cause sexually transmitted diseases are inconspicuous and can go unnoticed. This makes people infected unknowingly transmit the disease, contributing to its expansion. Also, the conditions of some STDs facilitate the transmission of other. For example, the presence of genital ulcer disease (such as syphilis or genital herpes) favors the transmission of the AIDS virus.

The changes in behaviour patterns, such as frequent change of sexual partner, sexual promiscuity or earlier age of first sexual intercourse, along with social permissiveness to these unhealthy sexual behaviours, increase the risk of disease STIs and favour its transmission.

The use of contraceptives, that has contributed to an increase in sexual promiscuity, and increased geographical mobility are also factors that determine the spread of STDs. In recent years, along with the increased use of condoms, we also witness the increase in heterosexual transmission of AIDS and its disposal as well as the progress of other STDs. A condom provides poor protection for three of the four most common STDs: Human Papillomavirus and Herpes. Infection with human papillomavirus can occur in both male and female genital areas, whether or not covered or protected by a latex condom.

So it is important to mention STD prevention, in terms of medicine, comprising primary prevention measures to reduce the number of new cases of a particular disease, namely to diminish the appearance of the disease. Secondary prevention is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of a particular disease early in the lag phase, namely when there are no symptoms.

In the case of STDs, the detection and treatment can control the spread of STDs caused by bacteria. However, the majority of viral STDs (herpes, human papillomavirus, AIDS) are incurable and some of them have serious consequences for health, and even lead to death (for example, the Human Papilloma Virus is associated with cancer of the cervix). From there is that measures to follow are knowing everything address each of these issues (information) that in 1996, the relevance of the recommendations "ABC" are proposed for the first time in an official way to prevent infection by the AIDS (HIV) virus and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The letter "A" of "withdrawal" means that the priority and 100% effective in preventing infection is to abstain from sex and this is unrealistic in practice recommending youth to delay the onset of full sex. The same is true of mutually faithful monogamy, represented by the "B" to "be faithful". Finally, in the event that the above recommendations are rejected, there is talk of the "C" for "condom", recommending the use of condoms but warning that reduce, but not completely eliminate, the risk of contagion.

These ABC recommendations have been again ratified at an international consensus, signed by 140 scientific experts from 36 countries from all continents (published in the journal Lancet, 2004). This report specifically mentioned young people, being priority recommendation to refrain from sexual intercourse; recommends that young people who had already started them to stop having them and when they decide to follow, warns that the use of condoms can decrease but

never eliminate the risk of contagion. Likewise, acknowledges the role played by many religious organizations of different denominations and experts at "A" and "B" messages. So we can conclude from my profession vital considering three ways of action to help prevent these diseases, explaining each from my knowledge that would be: INDIVIDUAL: Action can be of individual character, as e.g. hang a poster on our firm promoting the use of condoms, or even to advise our users to periodically check your sexual health by a specialist. We do not mean you have to go by saying to all our users who review their sexual health, but as the role of social worker gives us some specific information on persons, we can act from our position to involve the user with their own health. It is not unreasonable to think that without we have a user who normally resorts to prostitutes, saying that it would be advisable that a check should be did GROUP: Also from a group point of view, if we are working with a group with more possibility of infection, such as youth, sex workers etc. We should apply a more focused intervention in the prevention of these diseases because they may be more likely to spread, or even not be treated because of shame or simple ignorance. From this point of action we can report on the nature of these diseases, their symptoms and how to cure / prevent them. So our role would be to control and information. COMMUNITY: On the other hand and already at a level more communal, social worker also can spearhead prevention, or data collection policies. Thanks to the management of organisations a social worker should be able to mobilize the necessary forces to start, for example a campaign's use of condoms among sex workers. Or promote the implementation of policies of raising public awareness.