Michigan Spring-Breakers Get STD Tests

Across metro Detroit, doctors in recent weeks have seen an increase in STD tests, and they blame spring break. "Without even looking at a calendar, we can pick out when spring break has ended just by the number of positives we see in the labs," said Carol Holland, technical director of the molecular pathology lab at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Following spring break, the lab typically sees an increase of more than 10 percent in requests for STD tests.

At the University of Michigan, so many students come in for STD testing after spring break that clinic workers must postpone taking time off. Robert Winfield, director of the health service, said, "There's enormous social pressure on kids when they go places with their friends to act in ways they might not otherwise act." In the weeks leading up to the big break, the school distributes safety packets that include STD information to dorm residents.

At Michigan State University, more than 100 students signed up for HIV tests in April -- the most tests the school can perform in a month. Before break, the university distributed condoms and online safety information.

"I don't think there's a patient who's come in here who hasn't heard the safe sex talk," said Brent Davidson, the obstetrics and gynecology division chief for the Henry Ford Medical Group in Oakland County. At his West Bloomfield office, Davidson typically gives STD tests to three or four college-age students weekly. In the past two weeks, about 20 students have tested post-spring break. Five were found to be infected.

Back to other news for April 22, 2005