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Please send items you would like to have included in future issues of NCC News to: cjohnson@prevent.org. |
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Dear Colleague,
Welcome to NCC News. This online newsletter was created to keep you up-to-date on all things chlamydia, and related areas of interest. We hope you will find it useful and informative. Please feel free to share this with your colleagues who may also find it of use.
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Don't Miss the 2010 National STD Prevention Conference
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 Mark your calendar, book your flight, and don't forget to register for CDC's 2010 National STD Prevention Conference to be held March 8-11, 2010.
Held for the first time in Atlanta GA, this biennial conference (co-sponsored by ASHA, ASTDA, and NCSD) will provide a unique opportunity to listen, learn, and encourage health professionals to develop much-needed responses to today's opportunities and challenges in STD prevention. The 2010 conference will focus on STD prevention as it relates to health care reform and the importance of greater emphasis on sexual health. This year's conference will feature:
- Pre-conference academy - For first time attendees or those who need to brush up on the basics of STDs, this STD 101 course is for you.
- William Foege, MD, MPH - Former CDC Director William Foege, currently with the Gates Foundation, will open the conference discussing the evolving context for STD prevention and public health as it relates to America's health care reform efforts.
- Atlanta area site visits - This is a great way to see local STD prevention efforts on the ground. Sponsored by NCSD, space is limited so sign up soon!
- Concurrent sessions and poster presentations - Topics will appeal to researchers, academics, social scientists, public health workers, health care providers, policy specialists, health communicators, and trainers. Sample topics include:
- Adolescents and STD prevention
- Electronic communication for STD prevention
- STD disparities
- Integration and interaction of HIV and STDs
- Challenges in health services
- Innovative training approaches for STD/HIV prevention
- Special events - This year's conference will feature a special viewing of VD: Values, Rights, Public Health, a chronicle of venereal diseases (or STDs) in the 20th century. This exhibit is sponsored by the Watsonian Society and ASHA. Other special events include a networking/social event at the Georgia Aquarium (sponsored by ASTDA and ASHA). Atlanta-area site visits and other special events require special registration. Visit for more information.
- Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH - CDC Director Thomas Frieden will close the conference by presenting his vision for STD prevention in public health's future.
Don't miss this year's National STD Prevention Conference, March 8-11!
Important links:
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Rates of Chlamydia Re-Infection High Among Urban Teenage Girls
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| A ten-year study conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine, published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that frequent screening and treatment for urban teenage girls did not reduce the prevalence of chlamydia. Researchers followed teenage girls in Indianapolis, screening them for chlamydia every three months and providing treatment when infected.
The girls also kept diaries detailing sexual encounters and condom use. Upon entering the study, 10.9 percent of the teenagers tested positive for chlamydia. After 18 months, 10.6 percent were infected, and after four years, 10.4 percent were infected. Of the 365 teenage girls who participated in the study, 61 were re-infected with chlamydia one time, and 60 were re-infected three to nine times.
Researchers were able to screen 313 of the girls' 1,387 reported male sex partners, and 26.2 percent tested positive for chlamydia. These findings suggest the potential usefulness of chlamydia screening among teenage boys.
Two NCC members, Dr. Alwyn Cohall and Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, were interviewd for a February 22nd Washington Times column about the study findings.
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Adolescent Health and Preventive Services Institute at Annual ACPM Meeting |
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On February 17, 2010 the American College of Preventive Medicine held an Adolescent Health and Preventive Services skill building institute during its annual meeting. The institute was opened by Ann Morris, a staff member for Rep. Henry Waxman, who described adolescent and preventive health provisions in the current health care bills. The three presentations that followed discussed the currently recommended clinical preventive services for adolescents and adolescent primary care visit patterns; information on multiple risk behaviors in U.S. high school students, which provided an opportunity to discuss the gap between the recommended services and teen risks; and a presentation on the Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center, a well-established, comprehensive program serving high risk teens which provides clinical, psychological, and other services. Slides from the Adolescent Preventive Services presentation can be viewed here.
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Help Update STD Testing Site Locator
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In anticipation of STD Awareness Month in April, CDC is encouraging STD programs, testing centers, and others to visit www.findSTDtest.org to ensure that the website, which serves as a testing site locator, includes the most complete, relevant, and up-to-date information on your testing site.
If the information is complete and up-to-date, no action is required. If anything is incorrect or needs updated such as contact information, hours of operation, etc. please let CDC know by completing and submitting the update form provided on the website. In order to ensure that all corrections are made by April 1, please review your organization's information by March 8.
Please contact Rachel Kachur, Health Communications Specialist in the Division of STD Prevention at CDC at 404-639-2387 or rlk4@cdc.gov with any questions or concerns.
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Resource Corner
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Updated Web Resource on Sexual Health
 The American Social Health Association (ASHA) has launched a new section of their website that will focus on sexual health. The goal of the new site is to shift the conversation from one of disease and treatment to one of sexual health and disease prevention. The site discusses a range of issues, from using a condom correctly to decision-making, body image, desire, disability, aging, and information on STDs and STIs.
Adolescent Immunization Resources
 The National Foundation of Infectious Diseases (NFID) launched its newly updated adolescent vaccination website and Call to Action earlier this month. Both reflect new CDC data and information presented by the speakers at NFID's October 26 Webinar, "Protecting Adolescents Now and Into the Future: Supporting CDC Immunization Recommendations and Strategies." The website provides useful information on recommended vaccines for adolescents, reasons to be vaccinated, as well as information for healthcare providers and the media.
STD/HIV Social Marketing Kit Available
The California Family Health Council and the CA STD Control Branch have partnered to create an online resource for youth providers on how to develop low-budget social marketing campaigns on sexual and reproductive health.
The web-based toolkit is organized with separate pages on several topic areas such as what is social marketing, defining the problem, and case studies. Each page contains planning tools, examples, and numerous links to additional resources. This toolkit is designed to guide you through each step of the process. | |
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