It's time more of us started talking about chlamydia

By Sarah Stoesz

Max Oberlander is a Minneapolis teen and a Teen Council member for Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. As such, he receives education and information about many aspects of human sexuality: anatomy, body image, healthy relationships, delaying intercourse and preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. And he is trained to share that vital information with his peers.

Last week he stepped up to call attention to an alarming problem that many in our community would prefer to ignore: The rapidly rising rates of chlamydia infections, which have doubled in the past 12 years. It now is Minnesota's No. 1 reported communicable disease, with more than 14,000 cases reported last year. As MPR's Lorna Benson pointed out Tuesday, that is more people than live in Bemidji.

Max was one of several featured speakers Tuesday at a statewide summit on chlamydia. In his remarks to the group, which included public health leaders from across the state, Max went straight to the heart of the problem: No one seems to be talking about chlamydia. He told the story of a high school debate class that centered on the H1N1 epidemic. The students were asked to list other epidemics over time: polio, the black plague, cholera and yellow fever were quickly offered as examples.

When Max asked, "What about chlamydia?" there was an awkward pause, and the class moved on. "I had mentioned the unmentionable, I had thought of the unthinkable," Max said. "I had just opened the door to a whole new world that was completely inappropriate."

Max knows firsthand how much shame and stigma are attached to these issues and how difficult it is to bring them into the open. As a rower and captain of his lacrosse team, he hears his share of locker room talk: "Not many boys know or care that they could be a carrier of the disease. But, trust me, boys love to talk about chlamydia when they hear a girl got it. For some reason, it's 'funny.'"

Max is taking action, including getting educated. His peers know they can come to him with questions: How is chlamydia contracted? Are some groups more likely to get it than others? Does the disease affect girls differently from boys?

Policymakers and others need to follow his example. For years, Planned Parenthood has partnered with legislators and community health-care providers to pass legislation to promote evidence-based, comprehensive sex education in our public schools, and for years that effort has been stopped in its tracks by a gubernatorial veto. Likewise, we have vigorously advocated for state funds to study and stem the epidemic.

Tuesday's summit was an important step toward tackling this eminently preventable public-health threat, one that disproportionately affects young women and girls. Want to know about the severe consequences of untreated chlamydia, especially for young women? If you're fortunate enough to know Max, ask him. He's got the facts. We need more like him.

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Sarah Stoesz is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. Planned Parenthood was one of the organizations that convened the summit, in partnership with the state Health Department, Dakota County Department of Public Health and Human Services, Hennepin County Health and Human Services, Medica, the state Education Department, Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support, Powell Center for Women's Health and Teen Age Medical Services of Minneapolis.

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