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03/28/2024 10:13:23 pm

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Sex Ed Highlighted As Chlamydia Outbreak Hits Texas High Schools

Chlamydia

(Photo : REUTERS / Newscom) A colorized transmission electron micrograph of Chlamydia trachomatis is seen in this undated handout photo.

A Chlamydia outbreak has hit a Texas high school which reportedly does not have sex education program, according to officials.

Parents of the high school students in Crane, Texas were informed on Monday of the Chlamydia outbreak through a letter sent home to them. The said letter, which was obtained by ABC news, nearby counties were also affected by the outbreak and that the school does not teach sex education.

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"Crane Independent School District would like to make our parents aware or more aware of a problem that has been identified in our teenagers and young adults of our community," a portion of the letter reads.

In the past couple of weeks, Crane County already had three reported cases of Chlamydia. The Texas State Department of Health said health workers are usually given seven days to pass the report to the state, ABC News explained.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the U.S.

The bacterial disease can be passed by one person to his or her sexual partner who does not use condoms, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) detailed. Chlamydia can be treated with antibiotics, NIH added.

Although most people infected with Chlamydia do not show symptoms, some of them can develop discharges, tenderness, pelvic inflammatory disease, or even liver inflammation. Some women have difficulty getting pregnant because of it, the NIH further stated.

Based on the information stipulated in Crane's student handbook for the school year 2014-2015, the school does not teach sex education.

"Currently, Crane ISD does not offer a curriculum in human sexuality," the handbook says.

The handbook, which is also posted online, explains that parents can choose to not include their child should the school decide to launch a sex education program. It also cites state law which requires them to give more focus on abstinence instead of other methods, the report relayed.

Dr. Jennifer Ashton, one of ABC News' senior medical contributor, said that 50 percent of her OBGYN patients are 21 years old and below. Highlighting the need for a more comprehensive sex education, she also conveyed her observation that the general public's knowledge of STDs is "generally poor."

In connection to the Chlamydia issue of the Texas high school, Ashton remarked that although abstinence is an ideal concept to teach to student, it is not realistic. She said students need to obtain "better" sex education to avoid more untoward occurrences among high school students.

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