Several problems with this study.

CDC study says at least 1 in 4 teen girls has a sexually transmitted disease; HPV most common NewsOK.com:

"Among girls who admitted ever having sex, the rate was 40 percent. While some teens define sex as only intercourse, other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some infections. [ginger says: you can label this the 'Clinton Effect', anyone want to tell me again how Monica-gate wasn't going to effect the youth of the nation?]"

Okay this is an important distinction that the story glosses over ... it is NOT 1 out of 4 of the entire population... it is 1 out of 4 of sexually active teenaged girls.

They only looked for 4 diseases .... three of which can be picked up by means other than sexual.

HPV - genital warts - does NOT need sexual contact, just skin surface to skin surface, or thru thin material, or even from surfaces. This means it can be passed on in swimming pools, exchanging/trying on swim suits or cheerleader spankies, even from toilet seats where one person sits and another uses immediately afterwards (like busy public bathrooms at stadiums/concerts)

Herpes - this is the same virus that gives you cold sores. And can be passed by sharing lipstick, stealing a sip of pop from your friend, getting a kiss, sneezes from others who don't cover they're mouth -- or don't wash their hands well enough before touching that door knob before you touch it and then eat your snack.

Clyamydia - yeast infection gone wild. Also an infection that can be spread on surfaces, though tough to do and less likely. Now according to my dr. an untreated yeast infection can mutate into clyamydia the same way that strep can mutate into scarlet fever.

They assume that ALL American teenaged girls are sexually active .... their study begins at age 11 .... yes you read that correctly 11.

They do not say where they got their study pool from but the story comes out of Chicago. And as anyone knows, where you live has a lot to do with your actions/norms. More dense populations {e.g. Chicago, LA, NY, Miami, TwinCities, Atlanta} are going to have a higher incidence.

There are just too many questions about their scientific methods to take this study seriously.

It really sounds like the whole point of the study was to push vaccinations -- which seems to have tainted the study.

If there was one thing I learned in college .... its that studies of this nature can be very easily manipulated simply by the way the data is viewed, or in this case what is left out.