But don’t let lack of public awareness dupe you into thinking the increasingly common disease isn’t a serious health issue.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chlamydia is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the nation.

In Stanislaus County, it is also the most frequently reported sexually transmitted disease.

Between 1991 and 1998, the county had been consistently reporting around 1,000 cases per year. In 1995, 914 was the lowest mark 1,062 in 1992 was the highest.

According to county reports, these are low estimates, because many individuals who are infected do not seek medical care or never get tested.

Because 80 percent of infected females and more than 50 percent of infected males show no signs of the disease, Chlamydia therefore eventually became known in medical circles as the “silent” disease.

But not for long, it is hoped.

Through aggressive awareness and screening programs, the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency is trying to make sure that chlamydia doesn’t remain silent any longer.

Implemented in 2000, the Chlamydia Awareness and Prevention Project and the Chlamydia Testing and Screening Project are two ongoing county programs being provided through a collaboration with the community health department to control the spread of the disease.

The $62,000 budget for the two programs focuses on education – as well as screening and testing at-risk individuals for the disease.

According to Sandra Rose, the county’s health educator and chlamydia projects coordinator, CAPP involves going to schools, juvenile halls and community-based organizations to talk about chlamydia and other STDs.

“The focus is on behavior,” said Rose of the program. “We try to focus on behavior that put people at risk for the disease.”

Young people are the target of the program because the disease primarily affects people in the 15-to-24-year-old age group; the majority of them young women, Rose said.

Between 5 and 10 percent of all sexually active girls aged 15 to 19 years may be infected with chlamydia.

Due to the physiology and cellular make-up of young women, they tend to be more prone to getting infected when exposed to the disease, explained Rose. Young women’s reproductive systems are less resistant to infections, she added.

In phase one of CTSP, which was recently completed, the health department screened 2,877 young people, out of which 252 were tested positive for chlamydia.

“So it’s clearly a critical health issue,” Rose said.

In more recent provisional data from the county for 2001, the number of chlamydia cases has gone up to 1,267. This data can actually be interpreted as a good sign.

Since the county implemented the screening and testing program in 2002, Rose believes the higher number of cases reflected in the county’s provisional data may be caused by the increased testing and screening, which means that the disease is finally shedding its traditional cloak of silence.

According to Rose, the county most recently received federal funding in the amount of $113,000 for the Community Health Action Project to continue its education and awareness efforts on the disease.

Reprinted by permission of the Turlock Journal.