STI quiz

1. More than one in ten South Africans are HIV-infected.
2. Women who have had an STI are at an increased risk for infertility.
3. Experts call scabies the silent epidemic.
4. Men under 25 are at greater risk for STIs than women are.
5. Self-consciousness is the greatest obstacle people cite when trying to protect themselves against STIs.
6. Experts recommend that young people should be immunised against Hepatitis B.
7. Herpes and genital warts can be cured.
8. When women have chlamydia or gonorrhoea there are usually no symptoms.
9. You may be at an increased risk for HIV if you have given blood at a blood bank in the last ten years.
10. Condoms are still the best form of protection against contracting STIs.

Answers

1. True. A conservative estimate by Aids organisations sets the infection rate at 4,2 million. It is estimated that 2000 people are infected every day in South Africa.
2. True. Unfortunately, women who have contracted an STD are also at risk for contracting cervical cancer and and Aids.
3. False. Chlamydia is called the silent epidemic, because 75 percent of women and 50 percent of the men who have the disease experience no symptoms. Untreated chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a leading cause of infertility.
4. False. Women under 25 are at greater risk than men under 25. The highest incidence of STI infection occur among women 15 – 19 years of age.
5. True. People of all ages cite embarrassment as the greatest obstacle they face in protecting themselves against STIs.
6. True. Adolescents who are sexually active or inject drugs should have themselves immunised against Hepatitis B. The vaccine is available and can also be given to young children. It is, however, not done all that often in South Africa.
7. False. Herpes and genital warts are chronic viral infections and are not curable. It is, however, possible to keep the symptoms under control with treatment.
8. True. Seventy percent of women with chlamydia and 50 percent of women with gonorrhoea have no symptoms at all. This means you can be infected without knowing it.
9. False. You can’t get HIV/Aids from giving blood. HIV can be transmitted through donated blood, but generally donated blood is screened very carefully.
10. True. Condoms are still the best protection against STIs whether it is oral, vaginal or anal sex.

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