STDs Galore

I think a major story overlooked by the Week in Review cartoon is the STD rate in teenage girls study that was released last week (and not just because it was covered in the Ithacan).

Reported in the March 12 issue of the New York Times and jumped to the paper's Science section, it's a fairly big story. A quarter of teenage girls having at least one STD is a huge number. The story is made even more significant by the fact that the number one STD found in the study was H.P.V. at 18% infection rate. It's common knowledge now that HPV can lead to cervical cancer and the fact that it is the most common STD found among the 14-18 year old girls in the study is horrifying both now and with regard to the future.