`Safe sex' warning from U.S. scientists

WASHINGTON Federal scientists yesterday urged people to be moreselective in their sex partners and to use certain contraceptivemethods to lower their risk of contracting sexually transmitteddiseases.

The diseases, with incidence up dramatically, includegonorrhea, syphilis, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS),chlamydial and genital herpes infections, scabies, hepatitis B,genital warts and cytomegalovirus infection.

Dr. Katherine M. Stone and two colleagues from the Centers forDisease Control noted in the Journal of the American MedicalAssociation that only hepatitis B can be prevented by a vaccine;there is no cure for herpes or AIDS; genital-wart treatments areoften inadequate, and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant organismshave made even some uncomplicated gonorrheas difficult to treat.

"Abstinence is a foolproof preventive method but is unacceptableto many," the team wrote. "Practicing monogamy and carefullyselecting sexual partners will decrease the likelihood of exposure toan infected person. Avoiding certain sexual practices should reducethe risk" of acquiring some sexually transmitted diseases.

Medical studies show that using condoms, diaphragms andspermicides reduces the risk of acquiring certain infections. "Theiruse should be encouraged regardless of the need for contraception,"said Stone and her group.

According to another article in the journal, which devoted itsApril 4 issue to these problems, some 3 million chlamydia infectionsand 200,000 to 500,000 new cases of genital herpes occur annually inthe United States. Gonorrhea cases numbered 910,000 and syphiliscases 68,000 in 1985.

"Fathers always used to tell their high-school-age sons to carrycondoms in their wallets," Dr. Mary Guinan, associate director of thecenters' division of sexually transmitted diseases, wrote. "Well, Iwant mothers to start telling their daughters to carry condoms - andmake sure the boys use them."

The same article cited studies by Dr. Robert B. Jones of IndianaUniversity School of Medicine in Indianapolis that show chlamydialinfections continue rising among undergraduate college women. Levelsas high as 17 percent are reported by some student health services.

Chlamydial infections can cause physical problems in both sexes,and infertility and pregnancy complications in women.

"Only when those at greatest risk for the disease recognize thethreat (it) poses to their health, and take the necessary steps toprotect themselves, will it be possible to completely prevent thelong-term" problems of chlamydia, Jones warned.

Evidence that genital herpes infections are more common than thepreviously estimated 10 percent of the population is emerging from astudy by Dr. Andre Nahmias of Emory University School of Medicine inAtlanta.

In other articles, researchers reported: A Seattle study indicates that screening women with any two of fiveknown risk factors for chlamydial infection will detect about 90percent of all female cases. The direct and indirect costs of pelvic inflammatory disease, themost common complication of sexually transmitted diseases, totaled$2.6 billion in 1984, according to Dr. A. Eugene Washington of theUniversity of California, San Francisco, and two colleagues. Over the last three decades, sexually transmitted diseases haveaccounted for one-fifth to one-third of all "reproductive deaths,reported the centers' Dr. David A. Grimes.