The good and bad news about STDs in Virginia, Tennessee

In a recent article published by TriCities.com, a group of University of Virginia researchers discussed the prevalence of so-called lifestyle-related diseases, which include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The investigators said they are hopeful that many people will benefit from the availability of a more effective three-drug regimen for treating hepatitis C, which can be contracted through unprotected sexual intercourse, intravenous drug use or other methods of blood exchange.

However, the prevalence of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis remains a problem in the Southwest Virginia and Tennessee areas.

The researchers said that one reason why these diseases spread so quickly is that many people who are infected do not show symptoms and are therefore never tested.

“The thing we want is to have people whose behaviors put them at risk for these diseases get tested for them and then get treated for them," said University of Virginia professor Michael Rein, quoted by the news source.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 19 million new STD reports each year in the U.S.