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Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening in San Francisco high schools
Charlotte K Kent1, Anna Branzuela, Lyn Fischer
1STD Prevention and Control Services, Department of Public Health, San Francisco, California 94103, USA. Charlotte_Kent@dph.sf.ca.us
Background:
Previous school-based studies in cities with a high prevalence of chlamydia found a substantial prevalence of chlamydial infection among students.
Goal:
The goal was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of chlamydia and gonorrhea screening in San Francisco high schools.
Study Design:
Sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and screening were conducted at four high schools. Students provided basic demographic information and urine specimens for chlamydia and gonorrhea ligase chain reaction testing.
Results:
Among 283 asymptomatic females screened, 3.9% had chlamydia and 0.7% had gonorrhea. The prevalence of chlamydia was 1.5% among females <16 years of age and 4.6% among females >or=16 years of age. Only 0.8% of asymptomatic males (3/381) had chlamydia, and none had gonorrhea.
Conclusion:
STD screening was both feasible and acceptable in San Francisco high schools. STD screening in high schools should be prioritized as follows: (1) chlamydia screening over gonorrhea screening, (2) female screening over male screening, and (3) screening of older students (juniors and seniors) over screening of younger students.