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Find the NCC on Facebook!
The National Chlamydia Coalition is now on Facebook. To follow the NCC, simply visit our page and click the "like" button. Don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues!
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Happy Halloween from the NCC and the staff at Partnership for Prevention!
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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 also may find it of use. |
 | New NCC Website Launched! |
The National Chlamydia Coalition (NCC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new and improved NCC website ( www.ncc.prevent.org). The site features an easier-to-navigate layout and is a go-to place for resources to promote chlamydia screening and prevention. Highlights include: - Why Screen for Chlamydia?--an updated version of the NCC's short implementation guide to help healthcare providers improve chlamydia screening
- Committee Products--a collection of papers, briefs, expert commentaries, and other products produced by the NCC's committees on Adolescent Confidentiality, Provider Education, Public Awareness, and Research Translation.
- Chlamydia and STD Resources for Healthcare Providers--a collection of resources for providers, including learning materials and CMEs, teaching and clinical presentation materials, patient education materials, and clinical practice tools.
You will also find a refined and improved Chlamydia Resource Exchange (CRE). The NCC developed the CRE as a free web-based resource library providing centralized access to multi-media public awareness and education materials on sexual health issues, including chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, and other STDs. The search and upload processes have both been streamlined and are now even easier to use. Please check out the new NCC website and CRE at www.ncc.prevent.org and spread the word about these great new resources to all your colleagues, partners and members.
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Can Facebook Help Prevent STDs?
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A new study in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that Facebook can be effective in promoting condom use among young people, especially in the short term. Even though results decreased over time, the findings of the study suggest social media can help inform young adults, who often receive little education on sexuality or guidance on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Researchers say social media may provide a viable alternative to promote safe sex using online networks of friends.
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Practical Strategies for Improving Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Retesting in Your Practice
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In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released STD Treatment Guidelines with new chlamydia and gonorrhea retesting recommendations. The recommendations state that, for both female and male patients, retesting should be a "priority for providers." However, retesting remains very low in the majority of clinical settings. In the next installment of the Research Translation Committee's Expert Commentary series, Wendy Nakatsukasa-Ono, from Cardea Services, and Holly Howard, from the California Department of Public Health, discuss feasible and effective interventions for improving retesting rates among female patients in your practice.
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The Rise of Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea
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This month's New Yorker profiles the emergence of  drug-resistant gonorrhea. A strain that is resistant to the last available drug against it has emerged, and many fear it may be the harbinger of a sexually transmitted global epidemic. Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the U.S., second only to chlamydia. More than 3,000 new cases are reported to the CDC each year, and it is thought that the actual incidence rate may be twice as high. Yet, there is only one class of drugs, cephalosporins, that is known to reliably treat gonorrhea, and for several years resistance has been rising. Efforts to develop new antibiotics to superbugs have been virtually abandoned by pharmaceutical companies; the primary hope to curb the expected epidemic lies in persuading people to alter their behavior, including condom usage when engaging in oral sex. Some public-health officials predict that in five to eight years the superbug will be widespread.
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Infertility Treatments, Massage Care Deemed "Essential" in Some States, Not in Other
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Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which services each state deems an "essential health benefit" is a mixed bag. For example, health insurance plans being set up in Kansas will have to cover infertility treatments, but those in Arkansas and Colorado won't.  Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have laid out the minimum coverage that must be made available to those obtaining insurance through small employers or the new state-based exchanges. These states are grappling with the edges of medical care, debating whether things such as infertility treatments, visits to chiropractors and time with massage therapists are considered "essential" in 21st-century medicine. Considering the link between chlamydia, pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility, these decisions will have a profound effect on women's health in these respective states.
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| Breaking through the Clutter: A New Resource to Educate Audiences about Condom Facts | |
Join the American Social Health Association for Breaking through the Clutter: Launch of a New Resource to Educate Audiences about Condom Facts on November 19th at Pew Charitable Trust Conference Center (South America Room), 901 E Street Northwest, Washington,  DC 20004, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. This session will serve as an introduction to a variety of new tools--video, presentation, infographic--to support educators, health care professionals, public health professionals who educate and develop messages about condom use and condom effectiveness. RSVP at debarrindell@ASHASTD.org if you are interested in attending.
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| HPV Vaccine Does Not Increase Sexual Activity
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A recent study of nearly 1,400 girls, published in Pediatrics, found that those who received the HPV vaccine at the age of 11 did not engage in more sexual activity than those who were not vaccinated.  In 2006, Federal health officials began recommending that girls be vaccinated as early as age 11, and made a similar recommendation for preadolescent boys in 2011. However, despite the federal recommendations, vaccination rates around the country remain low, in part because of fears the vaccine may make adolescents less wary of casual sex. The results of this study may help quell these fears.
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| The After-Effects of Untreated Chlamydia: One Woman's Story | |
London's The Telegraph recently featured one woman's personal story  of the negative effects of untreated chlamydia. The article tells the story of Katy, a young woman battling infertility and undergoing in vitro fertilization after her case of chlamydia was left untreated for years. Chlamydia is the leading preventable cause of infertility; yet, many are unaware of the severe later effects of untreated chlamydia. The article also highlights the National Health Service's condom campaign for the prevention of chlamydia and gonorrhea.
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