A recent study on sexually-transmitted diseases shows that college-aged students have the highest percentage of diseases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most current study, those categorized as “young people,” ages 15 to 24, had four times the reported chlamydia rate and gonorrhea rate of the total population of the United States. At Ole Miss and in Oxford, those statistics hold true.
The Ole Miss Student Health Center Director Dr. Travis Yates said there is “no exact record available” concerning the number of students who have sought treatment for an STD in the past year.
“No, that rate should be private because no one values privacy in this nation anymore,” junior integrated marketing communications major Emily Haberstroh said when asked about if the STD statistic on campus should be a public number.
However, Yates did say that the Student Health Center is a major contact point for STDs.
“Reliably treating STDs is a facet of care we provide daily,” Yates said.
He estimates that the occurrence of STDs in the Student Health Center is ranked as following: chlamydia, herpes, HPV, gonorrhea, syphilis and lastly, HIV.
Yates’ summation that screening and treating STDs “is very common” was proven. During the course of The Daily Mississippian’s interview with Yates, on-staff nurse practitioner Kimberly Perry performed two STD screenings within 30 minutes of opening the doors.
Andrea Bynum, a nurse practitioner at Urgent Care of Oxford, supports Yates’ statement that STDs are common in people of college age in the Oxford area.
“We see a lot of college girls walk out of these doors crying,” Bynum said.
Bynum said that although she sees STDs in all age groups, the majority of cases are from ages 18 to 26. The three most common STDs seen at Urgent Care are herpes, gonorrhea and chlamydia, according to Bynum.
Lafayette County is in Mississippi Public Health District II. The Mississippi Provisional Reportable Disease Statistics shows that in September 2013, District II reported 146 cases of chlamydia, 30 cases of gonorrhea, one case of early latent syphilis and one case of HIV.
Cases of herpes, gonorrhea and chlamydia do not have to be reported to the health department. The number of syphilis and HIV cases are required to be reported, according to Bynum.
The 2012 Mississippi Fact Sheets on STDs report that 15 to 24 year olds account for 67 percent of gonorrhea infections, 76 percent of chlamydia infections and 42 percent of primary and secondary syphilis infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 30.2 percent of people living with HIV in Mississippi are ages 13 to 24, and 4.4 percent of those people live in District II.
Yates said the numbers might be so high due to a lack of education.
“18,000 students in close proximity provides ample opportunities for activities,” Yates said.
In Yates’ opinion, a large factor is the current social acceptance of sexual activity and intoxication with alcohol and drugs, which hinders one’s ability to choose safe sex.
The Student Health Center tries to combat the rising number of young people with STDs with promotional tools such as pamphlets, brochures, free condom distribution and educational opportunities for all Greek houses. Bynum said she tries to educate Urgent Care’s patients about STDs, but most of the time it is too late for prevention by the time she sees them.
Yates said that the Student Health Center does provide preventative treatments, such as the Gardasil vaccinations against HPV. Full testing and treatments plans are also available through the Student Health Center. If you believe you have an STD, Urgent Care is available to treat herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis.
“It is helpful if you have an idea of what you contracted because there is not one test for STDs,” Bynum said.
The University of Mississippi’s Counseling Center is available for confidential personal counseling. No record of counseling is contained in any academic, educational or personnel file.
— Mary Daniel Simpson
marydaniel.simpson@yahoo.com
