The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Editorials

Related Photos

  • ed4-12.jpg

    ed4-12.jpg

April 11, 2010

Our View: Region has too many STD cases

— Even with the total number of reported cases in Minnesota dropping, our nine-county region, unfortunately, retains its status as having a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases.

The county has had a history of being in the top STD rankings, and the latest numbers from the state health department reflect that continuing trend. In Blue Earth County the rate of the most common STD, chlamydia, grew from 379 to 425 per 100,000 residents. This year the rate also went up in all other area counties of Region Nine, except Waseca County.

That high rate of chlamydia cases lands Blue Earth County as second highest in the state. That’s behind only Ramsey County.

Not surprisingly, nearly 70 percent of the state’s chlamydia cases were among teens and young adults ages 15-24. Chlamydia can cause infertility and birth defects.

Clearly, there is still much work to be done in the area of educating young people about prevention of STDs.

A 2009 Boynton College Student Health Survey report cites that 7.1 percent of male and 13.4 percent of female Minnesota college students reported having a sexually transmitted disease within their lifetime. Chlamydia affects 5.8 percent of those students, and HPV and genital warts affects more than 6 percent of sexually active students.

It’s no surprise that unprotected sex leads to STDs. Among students who are sexually active in their lifetime, the Boynton survey reported 52.9 percent used a condom the last time they engaged in vaginal intercourse.

Along with failing to use protection often enough, young people also are often misinformed about what sex itself is, often thinking that sexual touching and oral sex don’t count as sex, and therefore, are “safe.”

Schools are adopting curriculum that more thoroughly educates young people about risks, and mentoring programs — such as CHAP’s Project for Teens in which older students talk to younger students about avoiding high-risk behavior — complement the more formal instruction. But the work can’t be done in schools alone.

Parents are their kids’ most important teachers, and sex education must begin and continue at home. Values certainly should be part of the discussion, but kids also need to know the concrete facts so they can make wise, healthy decisions.

A number of resources are available to parents to help them tap good information about sex education, including local health providers, clinics and education groups. The Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting stresses that parents should be more concerned about telling “too little, too late” rather than “too much, too soon.”

Kids hear about sex everywhere. They need to hear more from their parents, who have the ever-present goal of keeping their children safe and healthy.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Editorials