The NMSU Department of Health and Aggie Health and Wellness Center teamed together for the fall STD and STI testing this past week. Students were given the opportunity to test confidentially for Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

This is the sixth year that the Department of Health and the Health and Wellness Center have commenced free STD testing to the campus community. Kirsta Bezenek, a coordinator for the event and a member of NMSU WAVE (Wellness, Alcohol and Violence Education), said the testing was only held in the spring in previous years, but is now being expanded to operate twice during the school year. “It started off as a Spring only event, but we are now offering it twice a year by having it in the Fall as well,” Bezenek said.

“We are testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea. If students desire to be tested for HIV, syphilis or hepatitis c, they can make an appointment with the Department of Health. As far as testing goes for chlamydia and gonorrhea, all students must do is urinate in a cup. The Department of Health will test it, and within two weeks they will know the results.”

Some of the most common STDs are chlamydia, herpes and gonorrhea. Around three million new cases of chlamydia are reported each year. While chlamydia can be treated with the use of antibiotics, STDs such as HIV and AIDS have lifelong effect and require ongoing treatment.

Tiffany Tyson has been working with the NMSU WAVE program for the last five years and is a health education specialist. She said that one in two sexually active people will contract an STI by the time they are twenty-five, and that the CDC estimates that 24,000 will become infertile due to undiagnosed STDs. “Nearly 20 million people will be diagnosed every year with an STD”, Tyson said.

“Those are extremely high numbers. By offering free STD checkup services to students, they are more likely to get tested and have that available option to them.”

According to a study done in 2014 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of adolescents didn’t talk about sexual health issues with their doctors during annual health visits. Young adults may not be aware they have contracted an STD in the first place. “I personally don’t think people realize how easy it is to contract an STD or STI,” Tyson said.

“I feel as if people are more worried about birth control and preventing pregnancy then they are about contracting an STI or STD. If students on campus do have an STD, many won’t even realize they have one which is scary.”

The Wellness, Alcohol and Violence Education Program (WAVE) is a harm reduction program which educates the campus community on issues of personal safety and well-being. WAVE’s peer educators provide students with information and strategies regarding alcohol use and the prevention of sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence.

For more information regarding STD or STI testing, please contact the Aggie Health and Wellness Center at 575-646-1512.