A few years after the end of World War II we seemed to be in a position to solve the VD problem once and for all. On top of all we had before, there was penicillin inspiring a growing confidence that it would wipe out both syphilis and gonorrhea; and there were all sorts of new and encouraging bits of technology, among which the TPI test promised to do away with the nagging false positive blood test problem in syphilis. Money was pouring into science, and science could work wonders. Even then there were voices raised in warning; but medical Cassandras were no novelty, especially in the long war with syphilis. The prevailing theme was one of optimism.

For a few years the vital statistics tended to encourage the optimism; but by the time we were well into the 1950s the wind shifted. The incidence curves that had been going down so gratifyingly stopped and started up again. The syphilis line seemed to have more or less leveled out or even gone down a little until a year or so ago, but more recently it has started up again, alarmingly. Gonorrhea has been rising steadily, and fast. The United States figures for 1968 and 1969, which became available early in 1970, showed gonorrhea at the top of the list of report able infectious diseases; and it began to be spoken of in terms of "epidemic proportions" and even as "out of control." Nor is any relief in sight or promised, although we have no reason to doubt that research and public health people are working to the limit of their resources. The problem persists or gets worse in the United States, and for its citizens scattered all over the world, especially those in uniform. Other countries have the problem, too.”

The increase in VD is, of course, the principal reason for this article. With gonorrhea this increase has been going on long enough to be far beyond any chance of error or excuse; and as the same thing seems to be happening with syphilis, the danger signals are getting too loud and insistent to be ignored. This is news: every few weeks the daily press headlines" A New Epidemic in U.S.: Venereal Disease"; "Venereal Disease Rate Rising! in U.S.; Many Youngsters Afflicted; Alarming Rise in VD Rate Told"; "Frightening Rise in V.D."; "Syphilis Cases Are Up Sharply, Reversing Trend in Last Decade" all these are headlines in mid 1970. (see THE DIMENSIONS OF VD PART II)