Lesson 3 — Sexually Transmitted Infections


Self-Check

  1. Give two examples of viral STIs and two examples of bacterial STIs.

  2. What is pelvic inflammatory disease, and why is it a concern?

  3. In what ways can a woman who is infected with an STI present a health risk to her baby? Give three examples.

  4. Some people who become infected with an STI may show no symptoms.

    1. How is this a risk to the health of the infected individual?
    2. How is this a public health risk?

  5. A friend says to you, “Viral STIs are always more serious than bacterial STIs because they are not curable.” How would you respond? Include specific examples to support your argument.

  6. Programs that are designed to teach young people about STIs often are controversial. Many people believe that young people should be taught to abstain entirely from sexual contact. Other people believe that young people should be taught about safe sex practices.

    1. State an argument to support each side of this issue - one supporting abstinence and one supporting safe sex practices.
    2. Is it possible for health practitioners to design education campaigns that respect both views? Explain your ideas.

Self-Check Answers


  1. Examples of viral and bacterial STIs:

    Viral STIs Bacterial STIs
    HIV/AIDS chlamydia
    hepatitis (A, B, and C) gonorrhea
    genital herpes syphilis
    HPV  

  2. PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) is a disease that occurs in women. It is caused by undetected chlamydia that has spread to the cervix and Fallopian tubes. PID is painful and can lead to the build-up of scar tissue in the Fallopian tubes and open sores on the cervix. This may lead to infertility (Fallopian tube damage) and/or an increased risk of acquiring HIV. Chlamydia and PID pose risks to babies who come into contact with the disease during birth, including potential respiratory infections and eye infections. PID can arise if gonorrhea goes untreated.

  3. A woman who is infected with an STI can present numerous risks to her baby. Diseases can be passed to the baby through the placenta (such as HIV, hepatitis B), during birth (such as HIV, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea), through breast milk (such as HIV).

    1. A person who is infected with an STI but does not present any symptoms will not visit a doctor for treatment. The infection may become more serious, progressing to PID, infections, cancer of the cervix (women), tumors (on the vulva, vagina, anus, or penis), or infertility.
    2. The public health risk of asymptomatic (no symptoms) individuals infected with an STI is that they may infect other people unknowingly if they engage in unsafe sex practices or, in the case of pregnant women, pass the STI to their babies.

  5. The response should include the following key points:

    • Both viral and bacterial STIs have health consequences, the severity of which increases as the infection progresses untreated, depending on the type of infection.
    • Viral infections cannot be cured, only managed, and the likelihood is high of death from some viral infections (HIV and hepatitis) or of cancer developing (HPV).
    • Bacterial infections, although curable, are more likely to go undetected, increasing the possibility of being spread unknowingly. This increases the possibility that they will be undetected until they have progressed to the more damaging PID, which can cause scarring and infertility or infect a baby during birth.
    • Many bacterial diseases are becoming resistant to current antibiotics.

    The consequences of either form of STI should increase concern to avoid both forms.

    1. Support for the teaching of abstinence: Abstinence (from oral, anal, and vaginal sex, and the sharing of needles) is the only way to guarantee the prevention of transmission of STIs.
      Support for the teaching of safe sex practices: Students may argue that, because individuals will engage in sexual practices, to be educated about safe sex practices is better to avoid transmission of STIs (as well as unwanted pregnancies).

      Students can evaluate the arguments from an individual point of view, a societal point of view, or even a government viewpoint. The interest of society and government are served best by teaching people about the effects and transmission of STIs so that healthcare does not have to deal with large volumes of transmissions.

    2. Health practitioners can design education campaigns that respect the views of those advocating abstinence and safe sex practices by presenting the facts of each and allowing the recipients of the information to make their own decisions. This can be done by avoiding biased language or judgmental, subjective conclusions.

Inquiry into Biology TRG (Whitby, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2007), Sec 14.2 Reproduced by permission.


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