STD rates rising in Mississippi

In the past three years, Mississippi has topped the charts for gonorrhea and chlamydia infections, and the numbers are still rising.

Condoms are the best way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, but they are not 100 percent effective.  At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women contract an STD during their lives.
Photo illustration by Mia Camurati

With Mississippi constantly topping the list of chlamydia and gonorrhea infections compared to other states, the Oxford medical community remains mindful of the potential health threat sexually transmitted diseases pose to the college town.

An estimated one out of every four college students has an STD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but University of Mississippi Student Health Director Barbara Collier said approximately 80 percent of those with STDs show no signs and experience no symptoms of infection, causing many to go undiagnosed.

At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women contract an STD during their lives, with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) ranking as the most common STD in the nation.

Dr. Will Dabbs, a physician at Urgent Care of Oxford, said he most often treats herpes cases.

“It’s such a common occurrence,” Dabbs said. “I often get a student in the clinic asking about sores that have developed, and I have to break it to them that it’s herpes.”

Dabbs said he is almost always confronted with an immediate follow-up question: “What happens when I get married?”

“I tell them their future spouse better love them a lot, because they’ll get it too,” he said.

Both strains of the herpes virus (1 and 2) are passed by skin-to-skin contact between sexual partners, Dabbs said. Though condoms are often heavily promoted as a tried-and-true safeguard against sexually transmitted diseases, he said herpes is not adequately prevented through condom use.

Collier said she considers condom use 50 percent effective against STDs.

“That’s not the figure you’re going to read,” she said. “But condoms have to be put on, stay on and not break.”

Collier and Dabbs agree that condoms are the best option to prevent the spread of some STDs during sexual activity, a factor to keep in mind considering the amount of college students they treat on a regular basis.

“I probably see a student at least every other day, usually once a day, who wants to be tested for STDs,” Dabbs said. “If you’re being tested for everything, the bill can run into the hundreds of dollars at a commercial clinic.”

The full spectrum of STD testing costs approximately $150 at the University Student Health Center. The Lafayette County Health Department offers free STD testing every Monday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Dabbs said it’s important students realize the harsh reality of sexually transmitted diseases.

“STDs are unbelievably dangerous,” he said. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving. In many cases, once you’ve got it, you’ve got it; and other times it’s life-threatening.”

“The people who have STDs look just like you and me. A lot of times the people passing them have no idea. It affects when you have children and who you eventually settle down with. The sad thing is that one moment’s inattention can have lasting effects the rest of your life.”