[1] Historical documentation of STIs in antiquity dates back to at least the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE) and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (8th/7th C.

[13] A sexually transmitted infection present in a pregnant woman may be passed on to the infant before or after birth.

[14] Sexually transmitted infections include: Twenty-seven different viruses have been identified in semen.

[78][79] Healthcare professionals suggest safer sex, such as the use of condoms, as a reliable way of decreasing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections during sexual activity, but safer sex cannot be considered to provide complete protection from an STI.

These different means put certain groups, such as medical workers, and haemophiliacs and drug users, particularly at risk.

In particular, sexually transmitted infections in women often cause the serious condition of pelvic inflammatory disease.

One report indicated that people turn to the Internet rather than to a medical professional for information on STIs to a higher degree than for other sexual problems.

[81] Until the 1990s,[citation needed] STIs were commonly known as venereal diseases, an antiquated euphemism derived from the Latin venereus, being the adjectival form of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.

[82] However, in the post-classical education era the euphemistic effect was entirely lost, and the common abbreviation "VD" held only negative connotations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the more inclusive term sexually transmitted infection since 1999.

[84] Also potentially helpful is behavioral counseling for sexually active adolescents and for adults who are at increased risk.

The most effective way to prevent sexual transmission of STIs is to avoid contact of body parts or fluids which can lead to transfer with an infected partner.

Prevention counseling is most effective if provided in a nonjudgmental and empathetic manner appropriate to the person's culture, language, gender, sexual orientation, age, and developmental level.

Prevention counseling for STIs is usually offered to all sexually active adolescents and to all adults who have received a diagnosis, have had an STI in the past year, or have multiple sex partners.

[citation needed] Other STIs, even viral infections, can be prevented with the use of latex, polyurethane or polyisoprene condoms as a barrier.

A new condom is used for each act of intercourse, as multiple usages increase the chance of breakage, defeating the effectiveness as a barrier.

[citation needed] In the case of female condoms, the device consists of two rings, one in each terminal portion.

[96] Specific age groups, persons who participate in risky sexual behavior, or those have certain health conditions may require screening.

The CDC recommends that sexually active women under the age of 25 and those over 25 at risk should be screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea yearly.

[104] In 2010, 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections occurred in women in the United States.

[108] Over 400,000 sexually transmitted infections were reported in England in 2017, about the same as in 2016, but there were more than 20% increases in confirmed cases of gonorrhoea and syphilis.

The number of first cases of genital warts in 2017 among girls aged 15–17 years was just 441, 90% less than in 2009 – attributed to the national HPV immunisation programme.

[115] The first well-recorded European outbreak of what is now known as syphilis occurred in 1494 when it broke out among French troops besieging Naples in the Italian War of 1494–98.

[119] As Jared Diamond describes it, "[W]hen syphilis was first definitely recorded in Europe in 1495, its pustules often covered the body from the head to the knees, caused flesh to fall from people's faces, and led to death within a few months," rendering it far more fatal than it is today.

"[120][better source needed] Gonorrhea is recorded at least up to 700 years ago and associated with a district in Paris formerly known as "Le Clapiers".

[121] Treatment was not always voluntary: in the second half of the 19th century, the Contagious Diseases Acts were used to arrest suspected prostitutes.

A proponent of these approaches was Nora Wattie, OBE, Venereal Diseases Officer in Glasgow from 1929, encouraged contact tracing and volunteering for treatment, rather than the prevailing more judgemental view and published her own research on improving sex education and maternity care.

[citation needed] In the 1980s, first genital herpes and then AIDS emerged into the public consciousness as sexually transmitted infections that could not be cured by modern medicine.