Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#7435, 2105F McGavran-Greenberg, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435, USA. bill_miller@unc.edu
The prevalence and incidence of chlamydial infection, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis are unacceptably high in the United States. The prevalence of gonorrhea is substantially lower than chlamydial infection and trichomoniasis; in part, this is presumably due to the greater frequency of symptomatic disease. The disparity between racial/ethnic groups is considerable for each of these infections. Greater effort must be devoted to reducing this disparity and to understanding the underlying mechanisms of disease persistence in the United States.