Question

in the united states, which sexually transmitted infection (sti) represents the highest number of new cases annually?

a) chlamydia
b) gonorrhea
c) syphilis
d) hpv

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Epidemiology of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Tracking the prevalence and incidence of common infections.

Step 1: Distinguish between incidence and reporting

When looking at sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, we must distinguish between infections that are reported to health departments and the actual estimated number of new cases (incidence) occurring each year.

While chlamydia is the most commonly reported bacterial STI, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is by far the most common STI overall in terms of new infections annually.

Step 2: Compare annual new cases

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• HPV (Human Papillomavirus): Accounts for the highest number of new cases annually, with an estimated 13 million to 14 million new infections each year in the United States.
• Chlamydia: Accounts for approximately 1.6 million to 4 million new cases annually (both reported and estimated unreported).
• Gonorrhea: Accounts for approximately 1.6 million estimated new cases annually.
• Syphilis: Accounts for significantly fewer annual cases compared to the others.

Therefore, HPV represents the highest number of new cases annually.

Answer:

d) HPV