U.S. Has Highest Rate Of Venereal Diseases

The United States has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases of any developed country and no effective national system to combat the epidemic, an expert panel said Tuesday.

Although all of the dozens of sexually transmitted diseases to which Americans are exposed are preventable, each year these diseases cause thousands of deaths and such serious health problems as cancer, said a committee of the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences.

The 16-member committee said the fight against sexually transmitted diseases has been hampered by too few resources.