Chlamydia is frequent on University campus
Chuck Acheson
Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: News
Chlamydia is the most common and underreported sexually transmitted disease at Tech, however reported cases are not increasing compared to previous years.
"Over the past 30 years, [reported cases of chlamydia] remained virtually the same," Randy Tompkins, supervisor for the J.J. Oakley Campus Health Services, said. "There were some periods where it's spiked, but it's remained pretty consistent."
Over 1 million cases of chlamydia are reported each year in the U.S. with numerous more going unreported, according to the American Social Health Association. In 2006, the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 2,291,000 non-institutionalized Americans had the disease.
Last year, Putnam County recorded 259 cases, while Tennessee had 27,988.
"On campus, the disease is more common with men," Tompkins said.
In 2006, Adelbert James, a senior associate in the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine, released a study that found college freshmen were 70 percent more likely to acquire chlamydia. In addition, the report found that 13 percent of freshmen and 9.7 of the rest of the student body carried the disease.
Nicknamed the "Silent STD," chlamydia can infect a person with few or no symptoms. Due to the nature of the disease and its symptoms, it is nearly impossible to tally an accurate number of cases.
"Men are more apt to show the symptoms," Tompkins said, elaborating on why more men have confirmed cases of chlamydia. "The symptoms are usually vague or nonexistent."
When symptoms do exist, they include a burning sensation when urinating, a burning sensation around the genitals and an abnormal discharge from the genitals. Women are susceptible to additional symptoms including lower abdominal pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, or bleeding.
Complications from chlamydia are more common and serious for women. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus or fallopian tubes, leading to pelvic inflammatory disease. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes or uterus. Also, women with chlamydia are five times more likely to contract HIV, according to the CDC.
"Over the past 30 years, [reported cases of chlamydia] remained virtually the same," Randy Tompkins, supervisor for the J.J. Oakley Campus Health Services, said. "There were some periods where it's spiked, but it's remained pretty consistent."
Over 1 million cases of chlamydia are reported each year in the U.S. with numerous more going unreported, according to the American Social Health Association. In 2006, the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 2,291,000 non-institutionalized Americans had the disease.
Last year, Putnam County recorded 259 cases, while Tennessee had 27,988.
"On campus, the disease is more common with men," Tompkins said.
In 2006, Adelbert James, a senior associate in the department of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine, released a study that found college freshmen were 70 percent more likely to acquire chlamydia. In addition, the report found that 13 percent of freshmen and 9.7 of the rest of the student body carried the disease.
Nicknamed the "Silent STD," chlamydia can infect a person with few or no symptoms. Due to the nature of the disease and its symptoms, it is nearly impossible to tally an accurate number of cases.
"Men are more apt to show the symptoms," Tompkins said, elaborating on why more men have confirmed cases of chlamydia. "The symptoms are usually vague or nonexistent."
When symptoms do exist, they include a burning sensation when urinating, a burning sensation around the genitals and an abnormal discharge from the genitals. Women are susceptible to additional symptoms including lower abdominal pain, nausea, fever, pain during intercourse, or bleeding.
Complications from chlamydia are more common and serious for women. In women, the infection can spread to the uterus or fallopian tubes, leading to pelvic inflammatory disease. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes or uterus. Also, women with chlamydia are five times more likely to contract HIV, according to the CDC.
The Oracle encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The Oracle also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Web Editor at wahousley21@tntech.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Peter
posted 11/11/09 @ 3:52 AM CST
Great article all valid points. i think people just don't know how important it is to get screened. I suppose it's the stigma of an std and people are shy, especially the male. (Continued…)
Post a Comment