In 2008, the WHOreportedthat 499 million people caught a curable sexually transmitted infection in that year. This is up by approximately 111% from the 2005 estimate. These infections includeChlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae,syphilis and阴道毛滴虫.

Sexually transmitted infections are clearly on the rise, and can affect all of those who are sexually active, especially adolescents. Even some of the curable infections are starting to show resistance to drug treatment and some strains ofNeisseria gonorrhoeaeshow resistance to ceftriaxone, a third-generation antibiotic which is used to treat organisms that are resistant to most other antibiotics.

Infections such as syphilis and阴道毛滴虫can lead to increased susceptibility to HIV and pathological conditions resulting from the disease. Many STIs can be transmitted from the pregnant mother to her unborn child. The WHO state “Less than 50% of antenatal care attendees are tested for syphilis in 61 countries. It is estimated that worldwide up to 4000 newborn babies become blind every year because of eye infections attributable to untreated maternal chlamydial and gonococcal infections.”

A newarticle serieson sexually transmitted infection challenges published inBMC Infectious Diseaseshighlights the current opinion on the management ofNeisseria gonorrhoeae,Chlamydia trachomatis,Mycoplasma genitalium, non-gonococcal urethris, bacterial vaginosis, syphilis and阴道毛滴虫. The series commissionersSepehr TabriziandMarcus Chenhave assembled a collection of state-of-the-art reviews that capture the latest evidence and opinions on where future treatment efforts should be placed.