Chlamydia Screening Among High School Students in Mississippi

Background:
The adoption of NAAT to screen for Chlamydia (CT) and GC infections has facilitated the expansion of screening programs outside of the clinical setting to reach high risk populations.

Objective:
To describe the implementation of a high school CT screening program and document prevalence in that setting.

Method:
: Staff gained support from stake holders and parents to provide STD/HIV education prior to initial screening. Screening of asymptomatic students was done using FVU specimens processed with the Gen-Probe AC2 assay at the PHL from November 2004 through March 2007. Treatment was provided for students with positive test results.

Result:
596 students were screened in 8 high schools. There were 204/679 (30%) male students participating. Overall CT infection rate was 83/596 (13.9%). Of these, 63/392 (16.1%) were female students and 20/204 (9.8%) were male students with positive test results. Peers motivate others to be tested and the programs success has encouraged additional schools to participate.

Conclusion:
Community support is essential to implementation of high school CT screening programs and is likely to detect unsuspected infections thereby reducing morbidity.

Implications:
The high rates of chlamydial infection present in this population underscore the importance of screening programs and health education in this age group.