With sexually transmitted diseases on the rise nationally, Alachua County is seeing a similar trend among college-aged students.
In 2017, more than 2.3 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were diagnosed nationally, surpassing recorded cases in 2016 by over 200,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the increase isn’t as steep for Alachua County, the numbers are growing, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Bacterial STDs, including gonorrhea and chlamydia, have seen a steady increase in Alachua County for people ages 18 to 23. State data shows 1,626 people were diagnosed with bacterial STDs in 2017, which is up from 1,567 diagnosed cases the year before.
The county saw the largest spike between 2014 and 2015, when 200 more people were diagnosed with bacterial STDs, according to the state.
A rise in the rates of STDs within the past few years can be seen at UF, said Cecilia Luna, the marketing and communications coordinator for UF Student Health Care Center. She didn’t have any statistics available on UF’s increase.
The most common cases of STDs found at UF are chlamydia and gonorrhea, Luna said.
The health center found different reasons why these rates continue to rise, including patient education. Many incoming UF students lack the knowledge that they need to practice safe sex or understand the risk that can be presented to them if they don't, Luna said.
“We try to take a wholesome approach, because we know there's more than one factor contributing to not only why people aren't having safe sex, getting tested and not knowing their status in the first place,” she said.
The center is also working to fight the stigma against STDs and STIs — sexually transmitted infections, she said.
“We want students really to understand getting an STI is not the end of the world,” Luna said. “Almost all STIs are treatable in some way, including antibiotics.”
If students were more aware about safe sex practices and the risks presented when they enter a sexual relationship, Luna said she thinks they would be better prepared, which could help in the long term.
An ideal way to slow the rise of STDs would be for the campus community to talk about subjects that may be taboo, Luna said.
“We have a community of people from different cultures and backgrounds, not coming to college fully prepared with the knowledge they need to practice safe sex,” Luna said.
Samantha Evans, the sexual health educator at Gatorwell, said she wonders if the increase in STD diagnoses is because programs like Gatorwell and other sexual education awareness programs across the country are encouraging students to get tested.
“That would support the need to continue to have Gatorwell to continue to do what they do,” Evans said.
Gatorwell offers free HIV testing at its main office location in the Reitz Union through a collaboration with the Alachua County Health Department, Evans said. The office gives oral swab tests to about 400 to 500 people a year, Evans said.
Lauren Rafanan, a UF psychology junior, believes UF has done a lot to promote students' sexual health.
She said the clubs she is in, like the American Medical Student Association, have brought people from Gatorwell to talk about safe sex practices, and she has seen Gatorwell set up booths around campus to talk about protection.
“UF has resources to promote sexual health and actively tries to reach out to students, but it is ultimately up to the students to decide whether they want to use those resources,” the 20-year-old said.
Contact McKenna Beery at mbeery@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @mckennabeery
A student distributes free condoms from GatorWell on Turlington Plaza.
