Syphillis

In the last thirty years, the term sexually transmitted disease (STD) has become more and more prevalent in everyday conversation. Many resources describe what has happened with STDs an epidemic in our society. It is estimated that over 12 million cases of infections occur every year (Little, 2000). There are many reasons to attribute to this increase in STDs, but it is mainly due to the rise in both sexual partners and unprotected sex. “Of all age groups, people from 15 to 24 years old make up the largest segment infected with STDs” (Little, 2000).
In the 1960’s, the only prevalent sexually transmitted diseases were syphilis and gonorrhea. Today, over forty years later, more than twenty different diseases infect people every year. These statistics show a significant rise in visibility and diversity (1994).
Syphilis, one of the earliest known STDs, happens to be one of the easiest to treat. While easy to treat, syphilis happens to be one of the most common STDs that infe...