Is there really that big of a risk for me to get an STD?

STDs accounted for 87 percent of all cases among the top ten most frequently reported infections in the U.S. during 1997. Five of the 10 reportable infectious disease in 1997 were either exclusively or largely transmitted during sex, including the top four (chlamydia, gonorreah, AIDS, and syphillis).

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary of Notifiable Disease, US 1998. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999;47(53);1-93.

How many people are infected with an STD?

In the United States it is estimated that there are more than 68 million current STDs. Each year, 15.3 million new STD infections occur, including over 3 million infections in teens. The two most common STDs, herpes and human papilloma virus (HPV), account for 65 of the 68 million current infections. It is estimated that 20 percent of all Americans age 12 and older are infected with genital herpes.

Source: American Social Health Association. Sexually Transmitted Disease in America: How Many Cases and What Cost? Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation; 1998.

Source: Fleming, D, et al. Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in the united States, 1976-1994. N Engl J med. 1997;337(16): 1105-1111