CDC's report this week indicating that more than one in four US teenage girls is infected with an STD comes as no surprise to health officials in Dallas County, where nearly one-third of STD patients are under age 25.
"Unfortunately, we do see a higher number of teenagers testing positive for STDs, especially syphilis and HIV," said Jacqueline M. Bell, spokesperson for the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department.
Texas does not track cases of human papillomavirus - which CDC identified as being most common among teenagers, and which can sometimes lead to cervical cancer - or genital herpes. However, anecdotal evidence suggests HPV infections are "horrendously high" among teens who seek treatment at 11 high school clinics run by Parkland Memorial Hospital, said Dr. Sharon Davis, lead physician with the Youth and Family Centers.
Davis spoke about the benefits of the HPV vaccine Gardasil but noted that girls "need to get it before they start having sex, which is why we recommend they have it by age 11."
Last year, state lawmakers overrode an executive order from Gov. Rick Perry that would have required HPV vaccinations for sixth-grade girls.
The latest STD data also fuel the ongoing debate over whether sex education should stick to abstinence - by state law, the classes' chief focus - or include safe-sex information as well.
03/13/08
TEXAS: Parents, Health Officials in Dallas County Alarmed by STD Report
Source: Dallas Morning News:: Staci Hupp; Tawnell D. Hobbs; Kathy A. Goolsby; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention