Infections in College Age

Adults
Melissa G. Lumpkin, PhD, MPH
Chair and Professor
Department of Public Health
School of Public Health

Public Health
Population Based Approaches to
Health
Prevention
Cost effective
Multiple levels
Varied Careers
Customized to get you where you want
to go!

John Snow

Great Public Health

Acheivements
Immunizations
Motor Vehicle Safety
Control of Infections
Diseases
Declines in Heart
Disease & Stroke
Safer and healthier
foods

Healthier Mothers and

Babies
Family Planning
Fluoridation of
Drinking Water
Tobacco as a Health
Hazard

How often to doctors

recommend you wash your
hands?

7 times a day

When?

 when your hands are dirty

before eating or touching food (like if
you're helping cook or bake, for example)
after using the bathroom
after blowing your nose or coughing
after touching pets or other animals
after playing outside
before and after visiting a sick relative or
friend

How many germs are in the average

room?

1billion

How long does a germ

live?

A few minutes to YEARS!!

What should I do if I shake

someones hand?

 Wash hands as soon as possible

Avoid touching mouth or nose

What is the cleanest item

on earth?

A newly minted penny!!

What is the dirtiest item in

your house?

 Kitchen dishcloths and sponges

(Seventy percent of sponges contain
high levels of bacteria.)
Kitchen sink faucets (Half of the
faucets in American homes surveyed
were covered in bacteria.)
Bathroom tubs and showers (A bathtub
might contain 100 times more bacteria
than a trashcan, and the shower is the
third most germ-laden area in a home.)
Pet food dishes (Pets do not practice
good hygiene; plus, most people
infrequently wash pet dishes.)

 Microwave touch-screens (People put

raw meat into the microwave, program
the timer, and leave behind E. coli or
salmonella on the touch-screen.)
TV remotes (The remote is seldom
cleaned and frequently used, so its
covered with germs.)
Light switches (Bathroom light switches
can contain as many germs as a
trashcan)
Baby-changing tables (When someone is
changing a dirty diaper, anything on or
around the area can become
contaminated with bacteria)

Direct
Person to person
Animal to person
Mother to unborn child

Indirect
Droplet transmission
Particle transmission
Bites and stings
Food contamination

Microbiology

(1)

Microbiology is the study of organisms not visible to the naked

eye, thus requiring the use of a microscope to see them
(i.e. microscopic organisms or sometimes called microbes)

Smallest

Viruses
Bacteria
Fungi
Protozoa

Largest

Transmitted by.
Contaminated blood: Harmful microbes can enter your body
through your bloodstream.
Infected food or water: Dangerous microbes can enter
through your mouth if you drink untreated water or swallow
food that's uncooked or unwashed.
Disease-carrying creatures: Harmful microbes can enter
your body through close contact with infected creatures.
Germy air: Dangerous microbes can spread through the air
and enter your nose and mouth when you breathe.

Germs Spread

7 times a day for 20 seconds

College Risks and Protection

Flu - virus
6 feet away by droplets when people cough
sneeze or talk
Contagious Day 1 before symptoms develop
up to 5-7 days after becoming sick
December- March
Preventing with Vaccine

Upper respiratory Infection (URI or

common Cold) - virus

200-variations but rhinovirus most common

2-4 times a year typically August- April
Airborne droplets or direct contact
Zinc, vitamin c and antibiotics?

 Intestinal illness (virus)

Stomach, small or large intestine
Long live outside body objects
Rotavirus (3-7 days) fall and winter;
norovirus (1-3 days); and adenovirus (5-12)
Hydrate; avoid caffeine, milk and alcohol

Strep (bacteria)
Droplets (cough or sneeze); drinking,
eating, kissing
Sore throat, fever, red/swollen tonsils, tiny
red spots on roof of mouth, swollen lymph
nodes in front of neck
Visit doctor

 Bacterial Meningitis (bacteria)

Community living: Neisseria meningitidis
Saliva/spit, coughing, kissing or lengthy
contact
Nausea, vomiting, photophobia, altered
mental status
Seek treatment asap
Vaccine for three types of bacteria that
can cause meningitis: Neisseria
meningitides, Streptococcus pneumonia,
Haemophilus influenzaetype b (Hib)

 Mononucleosis (virus)
1 in 4
Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is most common
but other viruses also cause mono
Spread through bodily fluids, especially
saliva but also blood and semen
4-6 weeks after exposure; may last 4-6
months
Extreme fatigue, fever, sore throat, body
aches, swollen lymph nodes neck/armpits,
swollen liver, spleen or both, rash
Rest, fluids and OTC

STDs and HIV

 Dont
Share utensils or drinking glasses
Toothbrushes

Do
Wash hands frequently
Stay home if you are sick
Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or
coughing
Avoid Stress
Avoid touching your mouth, eyes and nose

Stopping the Spread of Germs at

Home, Work and School

Antibiotic Resistant
Infection

Antibiotic Resistant Infection

Biggest Threats

Protecting Yourself and Family

Antibiotics and Food Producing
Animals

How to Clean and Disinfect

Clean removes germs
Disinfect kills germs
Sanitize lowers the number of germs

How many college age students

have an STD?

 1 in 4

STI
Which is the primary means of
spreading HIV infection
(worldwide)?
A. injection drug use
Sex between men
Mother to child transmission
Heterosexual sex

 The vast majority of HIV infection

cases worldwide result from
heterosexual contact and the
majority of new cases occur in
teenage girls and young
women.

 A man with an STI is more likely to

transmit the infection to a female
partner than vice versa. True or
false

 Men are twice as likely to transmit

the diseases to their partner

 Why do colleges students have high

rates of STIs?

 College students underestimate their

risk
Of those infected state they had unprotected
sex and 25% state they had unprotected sex
even after they were informed

Risky sexual behavior is common in

college
are sexually active
Fewer than used condoms during sex
Peer Pressure
19% of males and 33% of females say they have had sex
because they felt awkward refusing

Alcohol
1/3 to stated they participated in sexual activity as a direct
result of being intoxicated
Binge drinkers are more likely to have multiple partners
Sexual assaults are more likely

STI in United States

STI
HPV

New Cases
14,100,000

Chlamydia

2,860,000

Trichomoniasis

1,090,000

Gonorrhea

820,000

Genital herpes

776,000

Syphilis (all stages)

55,400

HIV Infection

41,400

Hepatitis B

19,000

CDC, 2013

Human Papillomavirus HPV

FACTS (virus)
14,100,000 case each year
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted
infection in the United States.
Nearly all sexually active men and women get it in
some point of their lives.
It can affect men and women
Several types (some of which can genital warts and
cancer)
TRANSMISSION
You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex
with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly
spread during vaginal or anal sex.
HPV can be passed even when an infected person has
no signs or symptoms
SYMPTOMS
None
TREATMENT
No treatment
Get Vaccinated both men and women
Get screened

Chlamydia

FACTS (bacteria)
Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually
transmitted infection in the United States.
TRANSMISSION
sexual contact (ejaculation does not have to occur for chlamydia to
spread), it can also spread perinatally from an untreated mother
during childbirth
SYMPTONS
Many people with infection are asymptomatic and lack abnormal
findings upon examination. Estimates state 10% of men and 5-30% of
women with laboratory positive chlamydia test exhibit symptoms.
Common symptoms in women include: discharge, bleeding, urinary
frequency, and cervical motion tenderness.
Common symptoms in men include: pain or burning sensation when
urinating, inflammation or pain around testicles, and white or cloudy
discharge from tip of penis.
Chlamydia can also be found in the throat of men and women having
oral sex, but is not thought to be an important cause of pharyngitis.

Chlamydia
TREATMENT
Chlamydia is diagnosed with a simple
lab test from urine (in men) or a
vaginal swab (in women).
Chlamydia can be easily treated with
antibiotics

Trichomonia
sis

FACTS (parasite)
Caused by infection with a protozoan parasite called
Trichomonas vaginalis
3.7 million people are infected in the U.S. (men and women);
most common non viral.
TRANSMISSION
sex
SYMPTOMS
70% of infected people do not have any signs or symptoms
When symptoms are present it causes itching, irritation, or
redness of the genitals and discomfort with urination
Mothers with Trichomoniasis are more likely to have babies
prematurely and with defects
TREATMENT
For diagnosis a laboratory test must be completed
Can be cured with one dose of antibiotic pills
TwoTrichomonas vaginalisparasites

Gonorrhea
FACTS (bacteria)
Second most common reported
communicable disease
TRANSMISSION
unprotected oral, anal, or vaginal sex
SYMPTOMS
Men: a persistent sore throat; swelling or
pain in the testicles; swelling or redness at
the opening of the penis
Often no symptoms until disease is advanced.
Women: sore throat; pain or burning
sensation while urinating; pain upon
engaging in sexual intercourse

Gonorrhea
TREATMENT

Diagnosis involves taking a sample of fluid from

the symptomatic area
with a swab (penis, vagina, rectum, or throat).
antibiotic injection of Ceftriaxone & single dose of
Azithromycin
Antimicrobial resistant N. Gonorrhoeae

Genital Herpes
FACTS (Virus)
Common in the United States. About one out
of every six people aged 14 to 49 years have
genital herpes
Two types (herpes simplex 1 and Herpes
Simplex 2)
TRANSMISSION
Exchange of fluids (oral, vaginal, anal)
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms do not show often, except for
sores and blisters
TREATMENT
There are no cures, just medicine to reduce
the outbreak

Syphilis
FACTS (bacteria)
Bacteria: Treponema pallidum
Cases: 63,450 new cases in 2014
Stages: Primary, Secondary, Latent, Late State
Syphilis, and Neurosyphilis (infection of the
nervous system; can happen at any stage)
TRANSMISSION
Person to person direct contact with a sore
(chancre). Chancres can occur on the external
genitals, as well as the lips and mouth.

Syphilis
SYMPTOMS
Several Stages of Disease
Primary Stage: symptoms start between 10 and 90 days after
infection. Chancres appear as a firm, round, and painless
sore. Will heal without treatment, but comes back if not
treated. Lack of proper care leads to the second stage.
Secondary Stage: rashes, lesions in mouth and/or genitals.
Rash is not itchy, but has a rough, reddish-brown color
(typically on palms of hands and bottoms of feet)
Latent Stage: the hidden stage still infected, but no
symptoms
Late Stage: occurs in 15% of those who have not been treated.
Symptoms are: Damages internal organs, muscle movement
difficulty, numbness, paralysis, blindness, dementia, and death.
TREATMENT
antibiotics, Penicillin G
NOTE: Syphilis and HIV: Syphilis sores make it easier to transmit HIV.
What happens is that the sores cause a break in the mucous membranes
that protect our bodies from infection.

HIV INFECTION
FACTS (virus)
More than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living
with HIV, and 1 in 8 dont know it (aids.gov)
TRANSMISSION
contact with infected bodily fluid usually through
sexual behavior and/or needle or syringe use
YOU CANNOT GET HIV THROUGH CASUAL
CONTACT

HIV INFECTION
SYMPTOMS
rash, fever, chills, headache, fatigue, sore throat,
night sweats, loss of appetite, ulcers (mouth,
esophagus, or genitals), swollen lymph nodes, &
muscle aches
Dx: Must get tested to verify you have HIV
infection
TREATMENT
Some drugs are being developed to help increase
quality of life
If left untreated, can lead to AIDS!

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)

FACTS (virus)
Causes inflammation of the liver, more contagious
than HIV
TRANSMISSION
Through any contact of bodily fluids such as saliva,
blood, semen, and vaginal fluid, or from mother to
infant during birth. Most commonly by sexual
exposure and injection drug use.
SYMPTOMS
Acute 30-180 day incubation period (Immune
system fights it off within 6 months)
Mild- flulike symptoms
Severe- abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting,
dark-colored urine, and jaundice

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)

TREATMENT
Blood test to analyze liver function and detecting
the infecting organism
No cure and no specific treatment for acute
infections
Antiviral drugs and immune system modulators
for chronic infections to help slow or reverse
liver damage
Prevention and successful intervention:
Prevention- The vaccine is safe and effective
and is recommended for everyone under age 19
and all adults
Intervention- get the vaccine, most effective
within 24 hours but also effective up until 2
weeks

Stay safe

Hook up perception is untrue

Abstinence
Monogamy
Reduce the number of sex
partners
Communication
Safer Sexual Activity
Condoms

Stay safe
Activities to Avoid
Alcohol (binge drinking increases risky sexual
behavior, unintended pregnancy, HIV/STD, car
crashes, violence and alcohol violence).
Have buddy
Bystander Assistance
Drunk consent is not consent 21%
23% Female report unwanted sexual
contact
Multiple Sex Partners
Vaccinations: HPV and Hepatitis B
Get tested

References
http://www.cdc.gov/std/default.htm
PHLT 301 Health Behavior Class Fall
2016