"Even as medical researchers are making advances and poorer countries are reducing their rates of infections, people in developed nations have grown complacent and allowed gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases to spread again, an expert warns.

Speaking Wednesday to scientists gathered in Toronto for the country’s foremost science honour, the Gairdner Awards, Dr. King Holmes spoke of the need to remain vigilant as he gave fellow researchers a global picture of the fight against AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

'We have an increasing number of tools but we need to be more effective … We can do a much better job with the tools we have,' Dr. Holmes said in an interview at the Gairdner Annual Global Health Symposium.

A researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dr. Holmes is an authority in fighting sexually transmitted diseases. He is one of the 2013 recipients of the Gairdners, which have a track record of anticipating future Nobel Prize winners." 

Except from an article, Developed nations can do 'better' job on STIs, scientist warns, published October 23, 2013 in The Globe and Mail. Read the full article by Tu Thanh Ha here.