“I’m infected with what?” Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are spreading like wildfire. Doctors are calling it an epidemic.

    One in every four teenagers will be infected with an STD before they graduate from high school.

    Each day 33,000 Americans become infected with an STD.

    22,000 of these new STD infections are contracted by 15 to 25-year-olds each day.

    In l980, four million people were reported to have been infected with an STD.

    By 1990 that number tripled with 12 million people reported to have a new STD infection that year.

    Today, one in every five Americans between ages 15 and 55 is infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease.

    The Centers for Disease Control reports there are now more than 50 known STDs. Some STDs can make you sterile. Some are incurable.

    People with STDs often look healthy. Don’t be deceived. They can give you diseases that will make you miserable. Some of the diseases are itchy, burning, painful and even deadly. Most teenagers have been led to believe that a condom will protect them from STDs. The truth is much different. Having sex with condoms is like playing with fire. It doesn’t make it safe. Many people using condoms still get STDs. It’s an epidemic that’s infected more than 50 million Americans. Are you willing to risk a lifetime of good health for a few moments of pleasure?

Sources for STD statistics: The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, and the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta