Several suggestions are offered to explain why gonorrhea is called "the clap". Two possibilities are French words, which date to the 1500s. Clapoir is a sexual sore and clapier is a brothel.

A sexually transmitted parasite, which can cause inflammatory illnesses and premature births, is finding a seemingly unlikely home in women over 40 years old.

Activities that require daily maintenance can be tough to adhere to. New research shows that patients with TB can take drugs less often and for a shorter duration of time.

It only makes sense that, to eradicate a sexually-transmitted disease, both sexes need to be vaccinated prior to engaging in sexual activity, which would mean before puberty or early teens.

Three percent of the world's population are infected with the hepatitis C virus, which is a leading cause of organ transplants, liver cancer and liver-related deaths.

People in the high risk group for contracting HIV, which includes gay men, substance abusers, bisexual men and those with multiple sex partners should test once a year and always use condoms, especially when multiple partners are involved.

Much has been said about the exciting results achieved with antiretroviral drugs in treating HIV. They are groundbreaking, extending lives and helping eradicate the spread of these diseases.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University have made more progress in figuring out how HIV survives in the body. The protein called Gag has been targeted for future vaccine development.

Condom use is recommended for prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease between partners. Condom use is even more important when multiple sexual partners are involved.

It appears that a major breakthrough has occured in the treatment of a chronic liver disease. Remission looks to be a real possibility when telaprevir (Incivek) is combined with standard treatment for hepatitis C.