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STI's Prevention
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) don’t discriminate: One in five people in the
Uganda has an STI. Even though STIs are common, you don’t have to get one. Learn how
to protect yourself and your partner.
How do STIs spread?
There are many different kinds of STIs, such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes.
STIs are also called sexually transmitted diseases or STDs. STIs are spread through
sexual contact with an infected person
STIs pass from one person to another through:
- Blood, semen and vaginal secretions:
A person can pass these fl uids during vaginal, anal and oral sex, and by sharing needles.
- Skin-to-skin contact with a person’s genital
area or mouth:
Herpes, in particular, can spread when an infected person’s genital area or mouth
touch another person’s genital area or mouth.
The only 100% way to not get an STI is by being abstinent (not having vaginal, anal or oral sex).
When you do have sex, you can signifi cantly reduce your chances of getting an STI by using a
condom every time.
Another great way to protect yourself is through open communication with your sexual
partner. Talk about STIs before having sex. And don’t assume your partner doesn’t have
an STI – many STIs do not have symptoms! You and your partner could be infected and not even
know it. Get tested to be sure.
How can I tell if I have an STI?
The most common sign of an STI infection is nothing! Usually a person will have no
symptoms. But there are signs of STIs you can look out for. If you or your partner
experience any of these, call your local health clinic as soon as possible:
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- Abnormal discharge from the vagina or penis
- Sores, warts or rashes
- Abnormal bleeding
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- Itching, pain or burning during sex or urination (peeing)
- Sore throat or cold sores after oral sex
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The public health importance of sexually transmitted
infections (STI) is well documented. They cause serious
health, economic and social consequences. They have
also consistently ranked among the five most important
causes of adults seeking health care and of healthy
productive life lost. The morbidity from STI (excluding HIV)
in women aged 15-45 years, ranks second only to maternal
causes. In recent years, epidemiological studies have shown that persons
with ulcerative and non-ulcerative STI are more susceptible to HIV. People with
HIV and non-ulcerative STI have increased shedding of HIV-infected cells and
greater efficiency in transmitting the virus. In particular, genital ulcer disease
(GUD) has been shown as a co-factor in the transmission of HIV.
Sexually transmitted infections that cause genital inflammation have been shown to
increase the efficiency of HIV transmission as much as fivefold. Treatment of
STI and health education, including correct condom use, are efficient and costeffective
ways to prevent HIV epidemics.
For effective STI programmes, JFCU has STI programme managers who have an
estimate of the prevalence of STI within the local community and country.
This was achieved by setting up improved STI surveillance mechanisms
and conducting periodic baseline prevalence studies of selected STI.
Screening, diagnosis and treatment costs for many STI are expensive and
likely to exceed the per capita health care budget in many countries. A cost
effective public health strategy is the adoption of STI syndromic case
management. In order to best apply syndromic case management it is important
to know the epidemiology of STI in the community. This protocol has been
designed to support local STI prevalence studies.
Adolescents in Uganda carry a heavy burden of reproductive health problems. Different environment creates different problems. Marital status and few sexual partners does not appear to protect young rural women from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), implying that male sexual behavior may have an important impact on women’s risk to be infected.
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Joy for Children Uganda
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P.O Box 15383
Kampala (Uganda)
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Telephone:
+256 414 380 417
+256 414 530 450
+256 712 982 301
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Email:
info@joyforchildren.org
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