Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute showed that repeated infection with the organisms that cause chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis was very common.



"Depending on the organism, within four to six months after treatment of the previous infection, a quarter of the women were re-infected with the same organism," said Dr Wanzhu Tu, associate professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute investigator.

The study involving 381 girls aged 14 to 17 years showed that within two years, about three-quarters of participants with an initial sexually transmitted STI were diagnosed with a second STI, although not necessarily of the same type.