STDs Run Rampant at PA School District, CDC Steps In

A Pennsylvania school district has such a high number of students with sexually transmitted diseases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stepped in to track down students at risk for HIV. It’s estimated that 10 percent of the 3,000 middle and high school students in the Delaware Valley School District in Milford, P.A., are infected with an STD — including one confirmed case of HIV, Times Herald Record reported Friday.

On top of those figures, about two dozen teenage girls in the school system have tested positive for pregnancy. A non-profit health clinic in Milford said they estimate more than 300 students contracted a sexually transmitted disease in the past year. Officials also told the paper students as young as 12 years old reported being sexually active. The clinic eventually alerted the school district to the alarmingly high numbers. School officials then sent a letter home to parents on June 15. “It was sad to see the letter,” Tara Johnson, a Milford parent with a son in middle school, told the Times Herald. “We live in the kind of district where everybody works very hard to give the appearance that everything is perfect.”

A 15-year-old girl, who will enter tenth grade in the fall at Delaware Valley, told the paper she can’t believe the news. “That somebody in our school in northeastern Pennsylvania had HIV was just shocking,” said Rachel McKean. Kristen Bruce, a nurse practitioner with the Milford clinic, said most of the cases were the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infections are very common, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s estimated that close to 25 million people in the U.S. have HPV infections [STRICTLY, a sexually transmitted disease], which can cause genital warts and related lesions. Some strains of HPV are linked to cervical cancer. Bruce told the paper she wasn’t surprised by the numbers, citing a recent CDC study that found at least one in four teenage girls nationwide, between the ages of 14 and 19, has a sexually transmitted disease.

Teens Request Abstinence Programs

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently held a hearing titled, "Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence." While the hearing was stacked against abstinence education funding, two experts testified as to the effectiveness of such programs. Federal funding for these programs is in jeopardy. Chairman Henry Waxman (Dem-California) advocates for comprehensive sex education, which has no evidence of reducing teen sexual activity.

A press conference was held yesterday at the National Press Club to release evidence from recent studies that prove over 50 percent of teens will refrain from sexual initiation if taught abstinence. And teens are requesting the programs.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is providing, to congressmen, letters from students who want abstinence to be taught. In a letter written to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), Jordan wrote,

"Most teens who stay abstinent will be more emotionally stable, will not contract STDs, and will not get pregnant. This would not only benefit many individuals, but society as a whole. This is because the upcoming generation would be happier and healthier."

Lauren believes that even though there are "teens and other individuals who want to do whatever they see fit, most teens want to receive a strong message about abstinence. They want to know that they can say 'no' and that they don't have to give in to peer pressure. By informing students and teenagers of abstinence, you are allowing them to choose a better future and avoid all the emotional and physical heartache and risks of having casual sex."

CWA, along with teens across the nation, encourages members of Congress to continue to fund programs that not only provide proven results, but keep our children safe. Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.

TOPIC: Syphilis Skyrockets in U.S. -- STDs Raging in Gay/Bisexual Men

Article by Daniel J. DeNoon

A raging epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in gay/bisexual men drove U.S. syphilis rates up 12% in 2007 -- the seventh consecutive year of syphilis increases. Meanwhile, a CDC study found that tests for another common STD -- gonorrhea -- miss one in three infections among men who have sex with men. Those findings alone are troubling enough. But the picture becomes bleaker against the background of a surging HIV epidemic. "This increase in syphilis represents a major concern for the health of gay and bisexual men," Kevin Fenton, MD, director of the CDC's HIV/AIDS center, said at a news conference. "STDs increase HIV transmission. And if a person is already HIV infected, syphilis can increase viral load [a measure of HIV activity in the body]." Fenton announced the new STD data at this week's National STD Prevention Conference in Chicago.

Syphilis Surges Again
The syphilis numbers are shocking because just a decade ago, the U.S. was on the verge of eliminating the disease. Now 3.7 out of every 100,000 Americans -- and 6.4 out of every 100,000 American males -- carry the infection, which can cause blindness, brain damage, and death if untreated. Rates among men are six times higher than rates among women. This, Fenton said, is largely because of huge increases in syphilis infections among men who have sex with men. About 60% of all recent U.S. syphilis infections occurred in these men. African-Americans continue to be disproportionately affected by syphilis. Syphilis rates are six times higher for African-American men than among white men, and 13 times higher for African-American women than for white women.

Read the entire article here...

EDITORIAL: What keeps coming to mind as I read these articles is that proverb: "Whatever a man sows, that he will reap." Many Americans have sewn sexual immorality and cheered for homosexuality for the past 30 years. Now, our society is reaping what we have sewn. One in four teenage girls has an STD. Syphilis is running rampant among homosexual men. HIV/AIDS is an ever rising tide among those men (and women) who choose to engage in risky behaviors such as homosexual sex, IV drug use and multiple sex partners. Our former President taught kids that oral sex isn't really sex. Madison Avenue offers sex in almost every advertisement -- from shoes to automobiles to restaurants. In the mall, Abercrombie & Fitch coaches young teen boys on how to seduce young teen girls, while the Body Shop shows tweens how to dress like prosti-tots.
Yes, we are reaping what we have sewn. It's hard to feel sorry for those who are infected. The risks are widely documented. The church has been at the forefront (although always maligned) of promoting abstinence and fidelity. Our culture is in a sexual disease ridden state -- and we can ONLY look in the mirror to find who should be blamed.

TOPIC: One in Four Women in Teens Have S.T.D.’s, Study Finds
Article by NY Times Lawrence K. Altman
The first national study of common sexually transmitted diseases among teenage women has found that one in four are infected with at least one of the diseases, federal health officials reported on Tuesday. Nearly half of African-American teenage women were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study — human papillomavirus (H.P.V.), chlamydia, herpes simplex type 2 and trichomoniasis, a common parasite. That figure compared with 20 percent of white teenage women. The chart of HIV/AIDS infections (at right) shows that percentages are very close to the same as 2005 results.
The two most common sexually transmitted diseases (S.T.D.’s) among all the women tested were H.P.V. at 18 percent and chlamydia at 4 percent according to the analysis, which was part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among the infected women, 15 percent had more than one. Officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the findings underscore the need for strengthening screening, vaccination and other prevention measures for S.T.D.’s, which are among the country’s highest public health priorities.

“High S.T.D. infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,” said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., who directs the centers’ division of S.T.D. prevention.

Federal health officials ask about different health and nutrition issues in the survey, which is conducted each year. The S.T.D. analysis was based on information collected in the 2003-04 survey. Participants in the statistically based survey are chosen on a random basis. The survey contacted 838 women ages 14 to 19 who agreed to be tested for a sexually transmitted infection. Extrapolating from the findings, researchers estimated that 3.2 million teenage women are infected with at least one of the S.T.D.’s
S.T.D.’s can produce acute symptoms ranging from vaginal discharge to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and also lead to long-term ailments like infertility and cervical cancer. The survey tested for strains of H.P.V. that are linked to genital warts and cervical cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual screening tests to detect chlamydia for sexually active women under age 25. The federal agency in Atlanta also recommends that women between ages 11 and 26 be fully vaccinated against H.P.V. [I highly disagree with the CDC's recommendation. It is dangerous and unnecessary for those who are abstinent. HPV can be 100% prevented by not having sex before marriage... and marrying a man who does the same.]

EDITORIAL: Look around your neighborhoods, schools and social centers. To put it boldly, the percentages reflect the promiscuity of the culture involved. In the South at least, black girls are far more likely to be sexually active at a young age than any other ethnic group. White girls are second, with Latinos and Asians the least sexually promiscuous. We need to reach young girls, especially blacks, with the message that they don't have to be sexually active to make it in life (or to make a living). NO, I am not saying they are whores. What I am saying (at least in the South) is that a large number of young black girls get pregnant by the time they are 15 years of age -- and then go on welfare to sustain their income. It's a vicious cycle that steals lives, creativity and potential. Without name calling and hate mongering, the subject needs to be discussed and the cycle needs to be broken. But, that's another subject for another time...
The one sure way to prevent STDs in these unmarried, but sexually active girls (they are not "women" because the vast majority are not of adult age) is through abstinence. The myth of "safe sex" is a LIE. It is a false sense of protection that fails -- which this survey further underscores. I find it odd that the survey did not include HIV/AIDS -- which is also prevalent among promiscuous teens.
God's plan for our sexuality is abstinence until marriage. Then, fidelity / monogamy after marriage. IF everyone practiced the ONLY two moral laws regarding sex, STDs would be wiped out in less than three generations. Then again, so would teen pregnancy, 99.9% of abortions, all sexual abuse and the remainder of the gamut that causes young women (and men) so much anguish and pain. THINK about it -- many of the problems faced by teens and 20-somethings are related to what they think is love, but is usually just lust brought on by all the sexual images they see and hear every day.
One last word to the kids who grew up with Bill Clinton's definition of "sex". Oral sex IS sex -- and you CAN catch an STD from having oral sex (giving or receiving).

TOPIC: Adolescents With High-risk Sexual Attitudes Attract Peers With Similar Attitudes

Article from ScienceDaily

High-risk sexual behavior in adolescents appears to be influenced by the sexual attitudes of peers, and young people select friends whose attitudes about sex are consistent with their own attitudes. These are the conclusions of a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.
The study addressed issues of peer influence. Researchers sought to determine how adolescents come to resemble their peers in risky attitudes and behaviors, attempting to learn whether they are encouraged by peers to adopt certain behaviors or gravitate toward others with similar attitudes and behaviors. They also examined the role of peer attitudes in the development of high-risk behaviors. The study analyzed data on 1,350 15- to 18-year-old male and female students taking part in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationwide study of individual, peer, family, school, and community factors related to health.
High-risk sexual behavior was defined by the number of partners with whom adolescents had intercourse without a condom, since having multiple sex partners without using condoms puts adolescents at risk for contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases [STDs]. The researchers also constructed a measure of attitudes about the undesirable consequences of sex. These measures of sexual behavior and attitudes, from individual adolescents and their friends, were compared over time.
Some of the study's findings showed that peers influence adolescent attitudes and behavior. Adolescents whose friends had intercourse without a condom were more likely to have intercourse without a condom the following year. Those whose friends believed that sex had undesirable consequences were likely to change attitudes to be similar to those of their friends, and were less likely to have intercourse without a condom the following year. The effect of friends' attitudes on sexual behavior was stronger for females than for males.
Other findings showed that adolescents choose new friends with attitudes that are similar to their own. Teens who believed that sex had undesirable consequences were likely to choose new friends and retain existing friends with similar attitudes. This occurred to a similar extent in males and females, but occurred less often among Hispanic adolescents than among non-Hispanic white and African American adolescents. "This study has two implications for prevention," according to David B. Henry, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the study's lead author. "First, it supports the use of adolescent leaders for preventive interventions. Second, it suggests that interventions that use attitude change to change behavior may be more effective among females than among males."
The study was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Summarized from Child Development, Vol. 78, Issue 3, Peer Selection and Socialization Effects on Adolescent Intercourse without a Condom and Attitudes about the Costs of Sex by Henry, DB, Schoeny, ME, Deptula, DP, and Slavick, JT (University of Illinois at Chicago). Copyright 2007 / The Society for Research in Child Development, Inc. All rights reserved.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Society for Research in Child Development.