Chlamydia most common campus STD
MU numbers are in line with both national and state trends.
Published Oct. 31, 2006
Watch out, MU, that next fever might be one of the many physical manifestations of chlamydia, one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases on campus.
Director of the Student Health Center Susan Even said chlamydia is one of the two STDs treated most commonly on campus.
"The two we treat most commonly are HPV and also chlamydia," Even said. "Those are the two most prevalent."
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease caused by bacteria named Chlamydia trachomatis.
Symptoms of the disease can include fever, nausea, pain, swelling and a burning sensation when urinating. But most often, no symptoms appear at all.
STDs on campus appear to be in stride with trends Missouri-wide, according to Columbia/Boone County Health Department spokeswoman Heather Bare.
"For Boone County, it looks like our most common is chlamydia, pretty steadily over the last eight months," Bare said.
The Web site for the Centers for Disease Control reveals chlamydia is also the most prevalent STD nationwide, with just fewer than 930,000 infections reported in 2004.
STD trends in Boone County also follow population trends.
"Other than St. Louis and Kansas City, we have the third highest rates statewide," Bare said. "Sometimes you'll see an outbreak of something, and that'll make a small county's numbers go up but usually it follows population."
As far as dealing with STDs, both MU and the city of Columbia have several programs in place to deal with outbreaks.
At MU, Sexual Health Advocate Peer Education seems to be the forefront of the preventative measures.
"We have a peer group, SHAPE," Even said. "The students actually go through training and learn about all aspects of sexual health."
Once the peer advocates are trained, they share their expertise with students on campus.
"They are invited to do presentations and to come speak with groups of students. If the students want to know more about STIs, that's the main form of outreach that we do," Even said.
The Columbia/Boone County Health Department offers an STD clinic every Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m. that lasts for about two hours.
"People can come in and put their information down and get their tests back. It's completely anonymous and we try to keep it as low-cost as possible," Bare said.
In addition to doing the actual testing, the Health Department also tries to reach out to individuals at high risk for exposure to STDs.
"We also do some outreach work, some examples are we go and work through different groups in the area, and if a group asks us to come and talk to their clients and staff, we do," Bare said. "Usually it's people who are considered at high risk for having an STD or having unprotected sex."
If a student feels he or she is at risk of having contracted an STD, Even recommends the student call the Student Health Center first.
"They should call us and ask for an appointment to be tested. If they notice symptoms, they should name them to the nurse," Even said.
But, according to Even, the most important resource available to the students are preventative measures.
"Well, I think the first thing is to be sure that they're making a conscious decision to be engaging in intimate relations," Even said. "At some point in the relationship before the heat of the moment, there should be a discussion about protection. There is no 100 percent protection, but latex barriers like condoms offer protection."
A main goal of both the Student Health Center and the Health Department appears to be prevention, both Even and Bare said.
"Whatever we can do to help stop the spread of disease is why we're here," Bare said.