Special to the Reflector
A mobile medial unit will provide free screenings for sexually transmitted infections Wednesday and Thursday on the third floor of The Union.
The Mobile Medical Clinic of the Mississippi Department of Health will conduct the tests, which are confidential, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the help of the Longest Student Health Center. This is the first time the clinic has come to MSU to conduct the screenings.
Janice Giddens, graduate assistant of health promotions, said the screenings, which will take about 15 minutes each, will test students for syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV.
A urine sample will be used to check for chlamydia and gonorrhea, while a blood sample will be used to screen for syphilis and HIV, she said.
“There is only a small amount of blood needed for the blood sample. Participants can also choose to not do all four screenings,” Giddens said.
The results of the tests should be available after about two weeks. Once they are in, participants will be contacted to come to the Health Center and get their results, she added.
The screenings are part of the activities for National Condom Week. This week is held to raise awareness about STIs and to promote safer sex.
Keith Bracks, president of Spectrum, said his organization will help distribute packets containing condoms and information Wednesday and Thursday. Members of Spectrum and Health Center workers will be on the Drill Field from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. distributing these packets.
“I’m glad my organization has a chance to take part in something that is so important,” Bracks said. “People should practice safer sex habits for their own health and for the health of others,” he said.
Junior animal and dairy science major Suzanne Laird said the free screenings are a good idea. “Considering that college students are probably at the highest risk for STIs, they should know their status,” she said.
“Mississippi is ranked second in the nation for chlamydia and gonorrhea infections,” Giddens said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, two-thirds of all STIs occur in people 25 years old and younger. Also, one in three sexually active people will have contracted an STI by the age of 24.
The term STI is preferred because infections may cause no symptoms.
Giddens said that early detection is important because some people have no symptoms of an STI.
The Longest Student Health Center has condoms and pamphlets about various STIs at all times, Giddens said.
The center is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.