Sexual Transmitted Disease In The 19th Century

Sexual Transmitted Diseases (STDs) has been around for centuries and has origins all the way back in the medieval times. With the lack of knowledge and understanding of what STDs were they were spread quickly and became a widespread epidemic across the world. The most prevalent STDs in Europe were syphilis and gonorrhea. Most people thought they spread by crew who picked up diseas on voyages lead by Christopher Columbus. The voyages believed that they have contracted the diseases in the Americas and spread it in Europe when they returned. Sailors were also believed to be the cause of spreading of gonorrhoea from Tahiti to New Zealand during their voyages. Some STDs can deadly and life changing in some circumstance , syphilis, for example, can cause
In 1910 salvarsan or arsphenamine was introduced to STD positive patients to treat syphilis and this was known to be very effective. In the 20th Century, the advent of penicillin and other antibiotics led to an effective cure of bacterial STDs. This led to the public perceiving the illnesses as less of a threat and promiscuous conduct continued. In the late 20th century, the transmission of viral STDs such as HIV and herpes arose, infections that are not curable and in some cases may be fatal.
In in the late 19th and early 20th century it became very important in tracing the sexual partners of a person infected with an STD. Health clinics were set up to find and treat individuals with STDs and their partners, in a result to prevent a spread in the general population and to prevent a widespread epidemic . A major problem was created when the increase of teenage sex in the mid 20th Century rose to 50 % . This led to widespread infection among teenagers and also changed the way healthcare policy makers tried to raise