Originally written for The OU News Bureau — www.ounewsbureau.com

About half of all sexually active young adults will contract a sexually transmitted disease by the age of 25 — and most won’t know it.

This statistic from the federal Centers for Disease Control holds true for Oakland University, said Nancy Jansen, director and nurse practitioner of Graham Health Center on campus.

The prevalence of STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases, and infections is the highest in the age group of 13-24 years old, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

During the past five years, chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes have been the top three STDs of concern in Oakland County and on campus, Jansen said. The county reported 3,510 chlamydia cases in 2008 and 3,667 in 2009. Oakland County had a total population of 1,205,508 in 2009.

“(OU) has a fairly high rate of chlamydia for a suburban, Midwest university,” Jansen said.

The silent disease

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes and HPV have few or no symptoms, which is why these infections spread so easily.

“When people have symptoms of any disease, they go to the doctor and get treated,” Jansen said. “It’s really a silent disease.”

While both men and women are carriers of STDs, males tend to show symptoms, if any, more often than women, she said.

“It’s critically important to get tested regularly for sexually transmitted infections if you are sexually active,” said Juanella Tyler, Detroit outreach coordinator for Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan.

One of the leading reasons to be tested regularly for STDs is because many individuals don’t know that leaving an STD, such as chlamydia, untreated, can cause sterility and infertility. The screening test for chlamydia is a urine sample.

Jansen said there are no pokes, no prodding and no pelvic. The treatment for chlamydia, in particular, she added, is easy.

“No shots, one dose of oral antibiotics, one time,” she said. “That’s it, one time.”

The CDC recommends that those under the age of 25 get tested annually.

“It’s better to know your status than to not,” said Amy Frank, a social worker for the Community Health and Social Services in Detroit. “The sooner someone gets tested, the sooner (he or she) can be treated.”

Another main concern for the younger demographic and more specifically, students at OU, is the HPV, Jansen said.

Nearly 60 percent of college graduates will be infected.

“Most people don’t even know they have it, get rid of it and it’s not an issue,” Jansen said, referring to the ability of a healthy immune system to dispose of the infection.

Sometimes, however, if left untreated, the virus will attack the cervix of the female host, leading to cancer.

Jansen is an advocate for the HPV preventative vaccination, Gardasil, with more than 30 million doses distributed across the U.S. since 2005.

A main issue that the campus health center encounters with students regarding HPV is a vaccine phobia and the concern of whether an insurance company will pay for the vaccination.

The health center accepts most insurance companies and will perform a background check to ensure a student’s insurance company does, indeed, cover the cost of vaccination.

While the virus seems to be more common in women, men are also advised to consider the vaccination, because it is not a gender-specific STD.

The third most prevalent STD of the OU community is herpes.

“Many people can carry it without any symptoms and spread it even though they don’t know they have it,” she said.

A blood test can determine an individual is a carrier of herpes, and whether medication can be administered to suppress the disease and decrease chances of its spread.

HIV is not an issue on campus, Jansen said.

Prevention education

Since STD infection rates are generally higher with the younger age demographic, prevention education is an important tool.

“Practice risk reduction — limit your partners, bear your protection and get screened regularly,” Jansen said.

There are several factors that influence the rising rates at which these sexually transmitted infections go untreated. The most common is that younger people are afraid of what parents or guardian will say.

According to state law, sexually active youth 13 and older can be tested and treated for STDs and HIV without parental consent. More information on this topic can be found at www.sexetc.org

Some younger people do not know where to get tested or do not have transportation. The Detroit Health Department has mobile clinics, care units and regular sites that the team visits on a daily basis to provide STD and HIV screening in Wayne County where syphilis and HIV are more prevalent.

Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan offers testing and treatment for many STDs regardless of ability to pay.

Last year, it conducted 50,855 tests for STDs.

There are plans to open a Planned Parenthood clinic near campus on Opdyke Road in Auburn Hills in the next year.

Since April is national STD Awareness Month, the GHC will offer free chlamydia and gonorrhea screenings on campus. The dates have yet to be determined.