Loper: Chlamydia, herpes most common STDs on campus

One in four sexually active 15- to 24-year-olds contract a sexually transmitted disease each year, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health. The number of reportable STDs continues to grow among adolescents and young adults.

“I doubt we have a worse problem (with STDs) than anyone else, but more than we’d like,” said Alice Loper, Georgia College’s Director of Student Health Services.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a total of almost 19 million new sexually transmitted infections occur each year, almost half of which are among 15- to 24-year-olds.

According to Loper, gonorrhea, syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus and chlamydia—one of the most common STDs on campus—must be reported to the Division of Public Health. All four of the reportable STDs are seeing case number growth among the teenage and young adult population

“I think most campuses see chlamydia and herpes the most; (those are) the two main things we see,” Loper said. “Chlamydia is the most common we see.”

The CDC estimates approximately 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia are recorded each year, with more than half of new cases still being unreported. The rate of chlamydia among 15- to 24-year-olds has tripled from 1996 to 2008.

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection spread by skin-to-skin contact with someone who carries the disease. It is the most reported STD in the United States. Chlamydia is highest, at three percent, among 15- to 19-year-old women. The number of cases increased 10 percent from 2007 to 2008. Men of the same ages saw a 15 percent increase.

“We have a lot of one-night stands on campus, but they don’t talk before a lot of the times,” said University Health Educator Rachel Sullivan. “Talking about sex before hand helps prevent (STDs).”

One percent of college students in the Spring 2010 American College Health Survey—a survey GCSU students participated in—reported being treated for chlamydia in the past year. Almost half of a percent reported receiving attention for gonorrhea.

15- to 24-year-olds have four times the reported rate of gonorrhea compared to the rest of the population. 15- to 19-year-old women had the highest rate of gonorrhea.

“If you get gonorrhea or chlamydia, they are the ones that are treatable,” Loper said. “Herpes may or may not go away.”

Unlike gonorrhea or chlamydia, syphilis is an uncommon STD. According to the CDC, the rate for gonorrhea among young women in 2008 was eight cases per 100,000. The number is higher among young men at 22 per 100,000.

“We rarely ever see syphilis,” Loper said. “I’ve been here close to 20 years and I can only remember two cases.”

According to the CDC, syphilis was on the verge of elimination, but began re-emerging in 2001 and has increased to around 14,000 total cases in the United States in 2007.

“We really don’t see HIV here, but I’m not saying it doesn’t exist here,” Loper said.

Only 0.3 percent of students responding to the American College Health Survey reported being treated for HIV in the past 12 months. In 2007 the Georgia Division of Public Health recorded 687 HIV/AIDS cases in the Macon/North Central Georgia area. Young adults ages 20 to 29 have accounted for 19 percent of all AIDS cases reported in Georgia from 1981 through June 2005.

Only 53 percent of sexually active adults ages 18 to 24 reported they have been tested for an STD, according to the Georgia Division of Public Health.

Loper and Sullivan believe the lack of testing is caused by emotional, not logical reasons.

“Ideally you’d be tested every time you have unprotected sex, but that’s not possible or cost effective,” Loper said. “A lot of people are just ashamed to ask (for testing)”

Some students believe the extreme personal factor of STDs plays into the excuses for not getting tested. Sullivan believes the worry of someone, particularly parents, finding out about the testing is the main reason students do not seek medical attention.

“Students sometimes think we will breach their confidentiality, but that is in no way what we do,” Sullivan said. “I think that people who have a lot of risks (for STDs) may go elsewhere.”

Sullivan also believes students do not use contraception enough during sexual acts. 56 percent of American College Health Survey responders used contraception for their last vaginal act, but only five percent used something during oral sex.

“Everyone needs to have one condom for themselves and one for their friend,” Loper said. “Students must use protection every time, the entire time. It only takes one time.”

“There was a young lady who came in (to get an STD test) and it was her first time having intercourse and it came back positive,” Loper said. “It’s really sad if it’s someone’s first time—it’s heart breaking. But, they don’t need to think this is the end of the world.”

Posted by Matt Chambers on Jan 27 2011. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.