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New STD Infection Rates “4 times higher among those who used condoms during their last vaginal intercourse”: Study

M. Genitalium Surpasses Gonorrhea among Young Adults Reports Health Journal

By Peter J. Smith

SEATTLE, Washington, June 12, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study reveals that a relatively new sexually transmitted disease (STD) has surpassed gonorrhea in prevalence among sexually active young adults in the United States.

The disease, Mycoplasma genitalium, was first identified back in the 1980s as the smallest known bacterium in existence. Now researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle found that 1.0 percent of the several thousand participants in their study were infected with M. genitalium, whereas gonorrhea was found in a comparaitively small 0.4 percent. Chlamydia infection rates were 4.2 percent.

The researchers also found that M. genitalium’s prevalence of infection, according to the study abstract, is “11 times higher among respondents who reported living with a sexual partner" and "7 times higher among Blacks.”

Notably, the study also found that infection rates were “4 times higher among those who used condoms during their last vaginal intercourse.”

The findings published in the American Journal of Public Health were based on tests of 1714 women and 1218 men between the ages of 18 and 27 years participating in Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

The disease can cause inflammation of the urethra in men, and inflammation of the cervix and uterine lining in women, which can lead to infertility. Many of the cases, however, are asymptomatic, like Chlamydia infections. Other studies have shown M. genitalium to be associated with or a possible cause of cases of epididymoorchitis (inflammation of the testis and epididymis), neonatal disease and reactive arthritis.

“This shows demonstrably that comprehensive sex-education is anything but comprehensive,” Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues for Concerned Women for America told LifeSiteNews.com. “The evidence would indicate it is contributing to sexually transmitted diseases.” Instead, he pointed out, after 40 years of sex-education in the US, sexual promiscuity has skyrocketed, leaving approximately 1 in every 4 Americans currently with an STD.

The study, Barber noted, also underscored the fact that condoms are far from the “divine answer” dreamed by the left to solve problems associated with sexual promiscuity.

“By pressing upon children that condom is a fail proof safety net … they are encouraging kids to walk a paper thin latex light rope,” said Barber. “The only way we know to guarantee that you’re not going to catch all these kinds of diseases is by abstinence.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

HPV Condom Study Shows The Failure of Condom Education
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06063009.html

Study: Even with 100 % Condom Use 30% Still Contract Potentially Deadly HPV Virus
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062701.html

Medical Journalist Says Reliance on Condoms Spreads HIV/AIDS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062304.html

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