Can STIs be treated?
Most bacterial STIs can be treated and cured with antibiotics. Treatment does not guarantee that complications have not already occurred. A few viral STIs can be treated and occasionally cured. These are hepatitis C and B. However, other viral STIs can be treated for symptoms, but not cured. These include HIV and herpes. Vaccine research on viral STIs is ongoing. Vaccination for hepatitis B is effective and widely available. An HPV vaccine has recently become available and is recommended for young women. However, this vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV that cause cancer and warts. How long it works is also unknown.
