One in four teenage girls has an STD

By: Tiffany Ng

Posted: 3/13/08

Do you know four female freshmen? Chances are that one of them has a sexually transmitted infection.

A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 26 percent of teenage girls, or 3.2 million in the United States, have at least one sexually transmitted infection, or STI.

According to Alain Joffe, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center at Hopkins, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most commonly seen STI at Hopkins. Herpes and chlamydia are also frequently seen at the center.

The pattern at Hopkins mirrors the national trends identified in the CDC study. The most common STIs among teenagers include HPV, chlamydia, herpes and trichomoniasis, a parastitic infection.

The study found that, of those with an STI, 15 percent have more than one of these diseases.

The overall rate of STIs could be even greater than what was described, since diseases such as gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis were not tested for.

However, the difference would likely not be significant, since there is a low prevalence of these infections in girls 14 to 19 years of age.

Approximately half of all subjects reported having had sex at least once, and among this group 40 percent had at least one STI.

The Student Health and Wellness center offers comprehensive and confidential services for screening and treatment of STIs. Most of the diagnostic services are available to students free of charge.

HPV was the most commonly found infection in the national study. The virus is found in dozens of different forms, but its effects can be grouped into two different categories: The first is associated with genital warts, and the second is known to cause cervical cancer.

Although most HPV infections clear up without any treatment, some continue to persist, putting women at risk for cancer.

Gardasil, the new vaccine that protects against certain types of HPV, has been recommended by the National Cancer Institute for teenage girls and is predicted to significantly reduce the incidence of infection leading to cervical cancer and genital warts.

"Health professionals have to use every opportunity to offer young women the HPV vaccine," Joffe said.

"The vaccine is indicated for any woman up to age 26, so they should get it, regardless of sexual history or prior infection with HPV," he added.

The results were also broken down along racial lines, with African-Americans having the highest STI prevalence of 48 percent, compared to 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-Americans.

This study, which was presented at a CDC conference earlier this month, has reignited the debate over American sex education, with many saying the emphasis on abstinence rather than safe sex has contributed to this alarmingly high figure.

Many health professionals argue that teens should be informed with the knowledge of how to prevent the spread of STIs, as abstinence is not a realistic alternative for many teenagers.

Experts generally agree that, while abstinence still is the best option for disease prevention, teenagers also need to be informed of other ways of practicing safer sex, such as condom use and mutually monogamous relationships.

"Health education curricula are continually evolving, but experts have identified many of the key components to success," Joffe said. "Of course, that doesn't address the political issue of getting these curricula into schools."

More than half of the girls who had three or more partners were infected. However, even among girls who reported having only one lifetime partner, one-fifth had at least one STI.

Although it is undeniable that condoms reduce the risk of becoming infected with an STI, they are not a completely fail-safe way of preventing their transmission.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, while condoms are highly effective against the spread of chlamydia, trichomoniasis, HIV, gonorrhea and hepatitis B, they are less effective against genital herpes and syphilis. For HPV, protection from a condom is "partial at best."

Most importantly, these findings underscore the importance of getting regular screenings and vaccinations for such diseases, since many, including HPV, chlamydia, trichomoniasis and genital herpes, do not produce any obvious symptoms.

Both men and women can be infected with many STIs and be entirely unaware. Carriers of an STI are often able to pass on the disease to a sexual partner. If left untreated, such infections can pose many long-term problems, including infertility and cancer.

However, getting tested for STIs can be as easy as a trip to the Health and Wellness Center. "We have eliminated a lot of barriers in that the visits are free and the tests are free for females and males," Joffe said.

"If you are having sex, get yourself and your partner tested for chlamydia and other STDs and use condoms consistently and correctly."