Sexually transmitted disease (STD) is increasing in the United States. Most STDs are treatable, but there is no cure at present for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS leads to a fatal outcome in most cases. Although HIV can be spread through use of contaminated needles or, rarely, through blood transfusion, it usually is transmitted by sexual contact. The virus is present in semen and vaginal secretions and …showed first 75 words of 332 total…

…showed last 75 words of 332 total…tissues during sexual activity. Transmission of the virus occurs with such intimate contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal secretions. There have been cases of HIV being passed to health care workers through needlesticks. The only sure way of preventing STDs and AIDS is through sexual abstinence or a relationship exclusively between two uninfected people. If you have several sexual partners or an infected partner, you place yourself at high risk of contracting an STD.