STD reports in Gloucester County show susprising stats for young adults

It’s no surprise to anyone that college campuses are a literal breeding ground for sexually transmitted diseases.

But what is surprising is that the number of reported sexually transmitted diseases is going down across Gloucester County, and therefore Rowan’s Glassboro campus, according to human and social services organization FamCare.

According to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Gloucester County health records, the amount of contractions of diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia and HIV/AIDS has significantly gone down.

“The number break down is by each county, and the ones with major colleges or cities in them spike dramatically,” said Susan Mill, a registered nurse and supervisor at FamCare’s Glassboro location. “Each county is required by law to have a free STD clinic, and that is part of our obligation to Rowan’s students,” Mill said.

However, FamCare will be leaving campus soon, and the Rowan Health Center has not selected a new company to perform testing or treatment for STD contractions.

“As for our future, this will be determined in the next weeks and months,” said Nancy Pontes, Director of Student Health Services.

“I am meeting with the FamCare administrators to discuss this very issue mid-May, and then decide our next steps.  Fortunately, we have some options for next year.” said Pontes.

The current medical practice for STD’s on campus treatment is for students to come during FamCare’s limited operation times of 4:30-8 p.m. each Wednesday. Another provider may be able to offer more services, keeping the number of infections down.

According to state reports, last year New Jersey saw a decrease from reported cases of HIV/AIDS and is expected to continue to go down as the state enhances existing laws regarding the reporting of STDs. However, gonorrhea and chlamydia have only seen slight reductions.

In 2009, Gloucester County had a 9% decrease in reported HIV/AIDS cases, while more milder STDs only saw a negligible drop according to officials.

“We still see a lot of cases from the campus about chlamydia or gonorrhea,” Mill said. “We see spikes in testing and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections right when students come back to school, or right after spring break when students are partying the most. Fraternities, sororities and RAs do a good job of letting people know where and when to get tested and we, along with the Health Center, give away free condoms to students who need them.”

There is no real way of exactly determining that the campus has seen a true drop. Student reports of infection are put in together with other reports from each county.

“[A more specific system] would be a better way to know who’s got what, since we’re ‘interacting’ with each other,” said Sean Kennedy, a freshman engineering major. “[Another risk] is that students from other counties could be bringing in diseases, so the county-based data would be inaccurate, especially when all the students go home for the summer.”

To learn more about health statistics in New Jersey, see state.nj.us/health and for more information about on campus STD testing and treatment, visit rowan.edu/health.