The rate of sexually transmitted infections in Knox County is getting higher and higher, and the age of those afflicted by them is getting lower and lower, according to the Knox County Health Department - In 2005, 81% of Knox County residents diagnosed with Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were between the ages of 15 and 24. People of all ages afflicted with those infections in 2005 accounted for more than half a percent of Knox County's population, up from .43% two years before.
According to Patty Russell, Communicable Disease Coordinator at the Knox County Health Department, the rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) isn't as bad as it looks on paper, although she does admit that "it's creeping up every year." Russell attributes part of the increase to a new testing process undertaken by the department; until recently, partners of STI-positive patients would get treatment for infections without being tested for them themselves. Now that these people are being tested before they're given treatment, the statistics count them as new cases.
[...] do not have a student club about sexual health, and we do not have a clinic or a health department,” says DeMott, who pointed out that Sandburg is a two-year commuter college, suggesting that most of their students probably get their health care elsewhere. Ellen Vessels is the president of the Student Health Advocacy Group (SHAG) at Knox College, the leading importer of young people in the highest-risk age group in the county. SHAG is a student-run organization whose goal is to improve and protect the reproductive health of Knox students. [...]
[...] Amy is a junior at Knox who was diagnosed with HPV last year. Although Amy does not have one of the high-risk types of HPV, her diagnosis still “freaked [her] the fuck out.” cried [when I found out,] says Amy, who believes that Knox is not meeting what she sees as the school's responsibility to help its students protect their reproductive health. the facilities we need to go to are off-campus. There are cabs available, but I don't know many people who do that unless it's an emergency. [...]
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