
There Are Two New Drugs to Treat Gonorrhea
The FDA approved two new drugs to treat gonorrhea The new drugs—gepotidacin and zoliflodacin—are both new kinds of antibiotics and represent the first completely new treatment options in over thirty years.
ASHA was founded in 1914 as the American Social Hygiene Association. By 1959 that name seemed dated so ASHA became the American Social Health Association, a moniker we kept until we rang in 2013 by becoming the American Sexual Health Association.
Times change and our language and terminology need the occasional dusting off (perhaps reboot is more appropriate in 2016?). Another case in point from our sexual health field: the term VD (for venereal disease) eventually was replaced by STD which, in turn, is often playing second fiddle to STI (read our explanation of all this here). Do we perhaps need a more precise term?
In her paper “STD (sexually transmitted disease) or STI (sexually transmitted infection): Should we choose?” medical linguist Janet Byron Anderson, PhD, argues that we do and proposes “sexually transmissible infectious disease (STID)” as a more accurate way to refer these infections or diseases or…well, you read her paper and let us know what you think.
Do we need a new term for a new era and is STID the way to go? Send your comments to us via email and we’ll publish selected musings on the subject.

The FDA approved two new drugs to treat gonorrhea The new drugs—gepotidacin and zoliflodacin—are both new kinds of antibiotics and represent the first completely new treatment options in over thirty years.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) released new recommendations for cervical cancer screening that focus on HPV testing and approve the use of self-collected samples. The recommendations also clarify the age at which screening should start and stop.

Public health officials in England announced that they have identified a new combined type of mpox. Tests show the virus was a unique mix of the two known types of mpox and experts are concerned about what this means for future spread of the virus.

A committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made an alarming change to the recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine that will leave some infants unprotected.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently made striking changes to its online information about the connection between vaccines and autism that put the agency on the wrong side of science.

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) warns of rising levels of drug-resistant gonorrhea. The data comes from reported cases of gonorrhea in 12 countries across five WHO regions.
ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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