eli5: Why did we go from calling sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?
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Infections cause disease, so it’s more accurate to call the thing we are avoiding an infection than the resulting disease. Also, since an “infection” of say Herpes, may not actually cause the “disease” of genital sores right away, or even ever, but it’s still possible to transmit, it’s much more important to avoid “INFECTION” of herpes in the first place.
In the same way we don’t say someone was infected with AIDS, they were infected with HIV, the AIDS-causing virus.
I work in the sexual health field and from a linguistic standpoint, we say STI as disease has a lot of stigma attached. It implies something that won’t go away and you’re riddled with it forever, whereas infection implies that it will pass. A lot of people are very embarrassed and scared to get an STI test so the change in name helps with the stigma attached. and make it feel normal like it’s part of your regular checkups like going to the dentist and physician
Because a disease is often associated with something terminal or permanent while an infection can be cured.
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