The American Social Health Association is a trusted, non-profit
organization that has advocated on behalf of patients to help improve public
health outcomes since 1914. We are America's authority for sexually transmitted infection information.
ASHA is recognized by the public, patients,
providers, and policy makers for developing and delivering accurate, medically
reliable information about STIs. Public and college health clinics across
the United States order ASHA's educational pamphlets and books to give to clients and
students. Community-based organizations depend on ASHA, too, to help communicate
about risk, transmission, prevention, testing, and treatment.
This is where you
will find the facts, the support, and the resources to answer your questions,
find referrals, join support groups, and get access to in-depth information
about sexually transmitted infections.
You can be assured that the information you
find on this Web site is based upon well-researched and documented medical
facts and follows approved treatment guidelines as recommended by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
STD versus STI: Diseases that are spread through sexual contact are usually referred to as “sexually transmitted diseases” - 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.
WHY? The concept of “disease,” as in STD, implies a clear medical problem, usually some obvious signs or symptoms. But in truth several of the most common STIs have no signs or symptoms in the majority of persons 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.