Sexual networks in contemporary Western societies

Sexually transmitted infections continue to be a severe health problem in contemporary Western societies, despite the considerable funds allocated for control programs. In this article, we present and discuss a variety of explanations that have been advanced on why this type of disease is so hard to eradicate, despite the fact that the contact by which it is spread is far less frequent than is the case with most other infectious diseases. We conclude that several processes and mechanisms facilitate the spread of sexually infected diseases, and that both broad and targeted intervention is therefore needed to eradicate such diseases.