For health educators, a game of pingpong isn't always a good time. In terms of sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, pingpong is the back-and-fourth transfer of infections between sexual partners. This is a game of pingpong nobody wins.
Ball State's Health Education department will be set up from noon to 3 p.m. today in the Atrium to raise student awareness and stop the "pingpong" effect.
"Ban Ping-Pong" is a campaign designed to educate students about STDs. The campaign specifically focuses on the two most common STDs -- chlamydia and gonorrhea.
"Since many STDs do not have visible symptoms, it is important that anyone who is currently sexually active or who has been sexually active in the past be screened for infection. The screening can be as simple as peeing in a cup and can detect infections in early stages, before major damage is done to the body," Lisa Thomason, health educator, said.
A 2004 study conducted by the University of North Carolina concluded that one out of every two sexually active people will contract an STD by the age of 25.
"These numbers indicate that some changes need to be made in the way Americans approach sexual health," Thomason said.
The group with the highest risk of contracting an STD is the college-age population, according to banpingpong.com.
Women between ages 15 and 19 and men between ages 20 and 24 have the highest rates of gonorrhea infections. Almost half of all chlamydia infections are found in women between ages 15 and 19.
Gen-Probe Inc., a corporation that develops human diagnostic tests, started the "Ban Ping-Pong" campaign.
"The 'Ban Ping-Pong' campaign has proven to be contagious and is spreading to colleges and universities across the nation," Alyssa Eggum, Gen-Probe marketing manager, said.
STD-prevention campaigns are important because 75 percent of women and 50 percent of men do not experience any symptoms when they are infected with either chlamydia or gonorrhea, Eggum said.
Ball State's Amelia T. Wood Student Health Center offers free office calls and testing to any student who wants an STD screening. Students will be charged by the lab to analyze the sample. The fee ranges from $20 to $46, depending on how fast the student wants the results. Sometimes students' health insurance covers the cost of the lab analysis.
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