So, which one of us has an STD?

According to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, one in four teen girls between the ages of 14 and 19 is infected with an STD. This study means that in a high school classroom of 20 kids, five of them are likely to have a sexually transmitted condition. Yikes! Makes you look at your lab partner in a different way, doesn't it?

The study only tested for four types of STDs: Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia, trichomoniasis and the herpes simplex virus. Planned Parenthood names a handful of other STDs and STIs that the study chose not to test for, including gonorrhea, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and others.

According to Planned Parenthood, STDs are transmitted to females more easily than they are passed on to males. This means that girls are constantly at a higher risk of receiving an STD. Luckily, sexually active girls (and boys of course!) can take measures to protect themselves.

The only way to completely protect yourself from STDs and avoid unplanned pregnancies is to abstain from sex altogether. But because abstinence-only education isn't always realistic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) also suggests maintaining an exclusive relationship with one uninfected person who has been tested, consistently using condoms for all sexual activity, and getting vaccinated for hepatitis A and HPV.

The AJC article also cites that one of the causes of this epidemic might be the idea among some teen girls that only sexual intercourse counts as sex, even though oral sex and some other types of intimate contact can transmit STDs.

Demanding to use a condom for every sexual encounter might make you feel a little lame, but hey, wouldn't you rather be "overly" cautious than get warts?

Yeah, I thought so, too.

—Catherine |VOX Staff