Falling and rising STD rates

Introduction - Historical Notes

Falling and rising STD rates

In the 1950s, the use of antibiotics together with a massive public education campaign, led to a dramatic decline of STDs in the United States. However, this success provoked a paradoxical reaction: Many medical and political authorities feared that, once “the wages of sin” had been eliminated, men and women would turn to promiscuity, debauchery, and vice. As a result, marriage, the family, and society as a whole would face ruin and decline. In that sense, “the cure would be worse than the disease”.
In any case, in the early 1950s, the U.S. government, in part also misled by the apparent simplicity of a cure, began ever more drastic cuts in its STD prevention programs. At the same time, the social and political climate made the open discussion of sexual issues more and more difficult. Unfortunately, and predictably, the infection rate rose again. Thus, a unique historical opportunity was lost to get American STD rates under control. The episode also proved once again that it is not enough to have effective treatments available. Prevention programs must also address the issue of human sexual behavior, and they must do this continuously.

USA: A dramatic drop in STD cases in the 1950s, followed by a steep rise

Primary and secondary syphilis (in thousands)

               Gonorrhea (in thousands)

Source: Allan M. Brandt, No Magic Bullet - A Social History of Venereal Diseases in the United States since 1880,
Oxford University Press, 1987

[Course 4] [Description] [How to use it] [Introduction] [Terms] [General Description] [Historical Notes] [Curable STDs] [Incurable STDs] [STD Prevention] [Additional Reading] [Examination]