Quick Hits

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report showing that instances of STDs are on the rise in the United States.

According to a new study published in Sexual Medicine, many veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan encounter sexual health problems. Researchers found that almost 18 percent of veterans screened positive for sexual dysfunction during their initial visit to a post-deployment clinic at a veterans affairs medical center in Houston.

We've already covered the controversy over flibanserin's long journey to market in multiple blog posts. But Lori Brotto, Ph.D. provides a viewpoint we may not have considered.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that one of the antibiotic treatment options for gonorrhea seems to be losing its effectiveness. In a new report, officials share that their latest tracking suggests that resistance to the antibiotic treatment cefixime began to increase in 2014.

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women recently sent out a letter, signed by the representatives of 220 organizations working with sexual assault victims, to all members of the House of Representatives in opposition to the Safe Campus Act, a bill that would limit college sexual assault investigations. The bill, sponsored by Rep.

A report recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that more than half the world's population carries the herpes simplex virus, commonly known as oral herpes. Among the findings included in the report are statistics showing that 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 carry the type 1 (HSV-1) virus, which is is primarily transmitted through mouth-to-mouth contact and usually manifests as cold sores.

According to a recent study conducted at the University of Maryland, public opposition to pornography has declined in the past 40 years. In 1975, 53 percent of women and 34 percent of men believed there should be laws against the distribution of pornography. But as recently as 2012, these numbers had fallen to 43 percent of women and 23 percent of men.

Yale University is hosting an STI testing party on November 3, from 4 - 7 p.m. The event is intended to encourage students to take a more active role in their sexual health. Organized by Student Wellness and Student Health, it will be co-hosted by five campus Greek organizations. Going forward, Yales's Student Wellness and Student Health groups plan to host two STI testing parties per semester. You can learn more at Yale News.

Back in 1984, Robert Gallo, M.D., a biomedical researcher, discovered that acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Gallo has since helped develop a vaccine that is intended to cure AIDS and, in the 15 years since it was first developed, it is now poised to undergo its first human trial. Gallo is launching this clinical test in his role as the director of the Institute of Human Virology.  

According to research conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, in collaboration with the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR), a suspected case of sexual transmission of the Ebola virus was confirmed using genomic analysis. This work, shared in the New England Journal of Medicine, provides molecular evidence of virus transmission between a disease survivor and his female partner.