STI / STD Awareness Month is observed in April. Diseases that are spread through sexual contact are usually referred to as sexually transmitted diseases or STDs for short. In recent years, however, many experts in this area of public health have suggested replacing STD with a new term, sexually transmitted infection, or STI.

STI / STD Awareness Month calls attention to the signs and symptoms of STIs. The concept of “disease,” as in STD, suggests a clear medical problem, usually with some obvious signs or symptoms. But several of the most common STDs have no signs or symptoms in the majority of people infected. Or, they have mild signs and symptoms that can be easily overlooked. So the sexually transmitted virus or bacteria can be described as creating “infection,” which may or may not result in “disease.” This is true of chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and human papillomavirus (HPV), to name a few. For this reason, for some professionals and organizations the term “disease” is being replaced by “infection.”