Illinois: Sex Education Takes a New Turn

This fall, Chicago Public Schools and the Department of Public Health will offer students educational forums about STDs as well as a free screening and treatment program for gonorrhea and chlamydia. The pilot initiative will target juniors and seniors in up to six high schools.

"It's just one additional tool we think is important as we fight [STDs]," said Christopher Brown, assistant health commissioner. "We want to get these infections detected and treated."

People age 24 and younger account for about 60 percent of gonorrhea cases in Chicago and about 67 percent of chlamydia cases, said Brown. "Both of these diseases affect adolescents and young adults pretty significantly," he said.

Gonorrhea and chlamydia infections "can spread very quickly, very easily without the initial person knowing they have it," said Dr. Minh Dinh, an infectious-disease specialist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "It sort of catches like wildfire."

"It just doesn't seem like it's brought into the light," one 14-year-old Lincoln Park High School student said of the STD prevalence among youths. "I don't think people know much about it."

Participation in the forums and screenings will be voluntary, said Brown. Urine-based STD testing and any necessary treatment will be offered free of charge.

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