Young people are less likely to use condoms and more likely to avoid conventional sexual intercourse in favor of other sexual practices. Such practices may help explain some of the increase in the numbers of people with syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, explains James Greenwald, MD, a professor of family medicine at Upstate. These sexually transmitted infections can have serious consequences, and they can be treated, although Greenwald mentions that some bacteria are developing a resistance to antibiotics. He also talks about the ways in which New York state health officials hope to reduce the rates of sexually transmitted illnesses in the next five years. Click here for a related article.