According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexually transmissible disorders were the three most commonly reported infectious diseases in 1995.
Chlamydia, which the CDC began tracking nationally in 1994, was the infectious disease most commonly reported, with 477,638 cases. However, as noted by Dr. Denise Koo, CDC medical epidemiologist, that figure includes only the number of cases actually reported to the centers. Experts estimate that the true annual number of new cases is around four million. Gonorrhea was the second most commonly reported disease, with 392,848 cases. AIDS took the third spot, with 71,547 new cases reported to the CDC.
Chlamydia is transmitted by a microorganism acquired during sexual relations. It is often undetected because it usually produces few symptoms other than abdominal pain or a vaginal discharge in women and a burning sensation during urination or other discharge in men. If undetected and untreated, chlamydia can lead to more-serious problems.
Similarly, gonorrhea can lead to severe problems, including pelvic inflammatory disease, sterility and spreading of the infection to joints, muscles, heart and brain. Barring some medical breakthrough, AIDS still appears to be fatal to everyone contracting the disease.
The most ironic and tragic aspect of this epidemic is that the staggering social, financial and health costs of these diseases are unnecessary because they are preventable. The many biblical prohibitions against extramarital, premarital and homosexual relations are based on sound principles that protect mental, physical and spiritual health and serve to strengthen families and societies. When these laws are broken, human suffering is inevitable. (Source: Newsday .) GN
