Americans under 25 years old account for half of the 19 million Sexually Transmitted Diseases that occur each year. College students represent the age group in this shocking statistic estimated by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, making it a prevalent issue on all college campuses.
Students at USCA who are sexually active can prevent acquiring an STD by getting free condoms from the Student Health Center in the SAC.
Jeff Slagle, administrative assistant at the Student Health Center, said many students just come and walk in and take the condoms. However, he added most of the patients who come in are actually sick.
Pregnancy tests are also offered in the Health Center. However, Mr. Slagle said the number of women seeking the test was confidential; therefore an estimate of the number of women is not available.
For STD and HIV testing students can make an appointment with the Aiken County Health Department. Because the Health Department does not elicit work or school information, statistics of students who have been there for STD testing is not available. The Health Department is located less than 1 mile from USCA at 828 Richland Avenue.
Nationally, South Carolina ranks 17th in cumulative HIV/Aids cases, and 3rd for Chlamydia and gonorrheal infections.
According to statistic from DHEC, Aiken County had a total of 349 HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed between 1998-2009. 29 of these were in the 20-29 age range.
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