Sexually Transmitted Diseases Rise at Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College has experienced a recent rise in the number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) reported on campus--much like the similar rise experienced by Harvard last November.

Earlier this month, Dartmouth Health Services disclosed what Janice Sundnas, director of the school's womens' health program, said was a "a small bump" in the statistics for reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea over the past six months.

In response to the news, many members of the Dartmouth student body are organizing personal screening for these and other diseases, while some other students have sent e-mail messages blaming the new Class of 2004 for the rise in occurrences.

But Sundnas said that there are fewer than 10 total cases on campus--no more than one might expect at a school of Dartmouth's size.

"The college is a microcosm of the population at large," she said. "Our [statistics] for STDs are probably the same as the rest of the population."

Last year, Harvard also experienced a similar rise in the number of cases of gonorrhea, from four in 1998 to nine in 1999.

Donna Campbell, a University Health Services (UHS) infection control nurse, said there were 20 reported student cases of chlamydia in 1999 and 16 so far in 2000, along with 9 student cases of gonorrhea in 1999 (considered a "blip") and only 2 this year.

No rumors or scares were associated with the release of those numbers.

Christopher M. Coley '83, chief of medicine for Harvard's UHS, said the University has no way of knowing for sure how many cases of STDs exist on Harvard's campus.

"The problem is that we have no way to know the true [number] of cases because people have access to other treatment centers, so the statistics couldn't show the universality of the infectional pattern," he said.

Sundnas said she believes the reaction on Dartmouth's campus is disproportionate to the actual problem.

"It's all very sensationalized and grossly exaggerated," Sundnas said. "It's almost getting pathological. There have always been STDs on campus, and they cannot be attributed to any particular group. Targeting any group as a source of an STD is the denial of one's own behavior."

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection that sometimes has no symptoms, but when there are signs, they appear five to 10 days after sexual intercourse.

Young adults, especially those under 25 years old have the highest rates of chlamydia.

Gonorrhea is most prevalent in high-density urban areas among people under 24 years of age who have multiple sex partners and engage in unprotected intercourse.

Campbell said that UHS remains aggressive in its contraceptive counseling efforts. She stresses the importance of abstinence and condom usage as methods for protecting against the diseases.