Sexually transmitted diseases are more common on the Iowa State campus than local health officials would like, said Rebecca Fritzsche, staff physician at the ISU Student Health Center.

The most common sexually transmitted disease on campus is the human papilloma virus (HPV), more commonly known as genital warts. There has been an increase in campus cases over the last five years, Fritzsche said, although actual numbers are not available.

HPV lives in the skin and is transmitted mainly by skin-to-skin contact with open mucus membranes. A person may infect their sexual partner(s) even if the warts are not showing.

Fritzsche said, theoretically, sexual intercourse is not the only way to transmit the virus. The warts may be contracted by using a towel shortly after an infected person or using a sunbathing bed nude after an infected person. HPV has also been transmitted from pregnant women to their babies.

“A lot of money has gone into research of HPV because some types may lead to cancer. The number of cases has increased and a small number of children may be born with the virus,” Fritzsche said.

Nationwide, nearly 35 percent of sexually active men and women on college campuses have contracted the HPV virus. Young adolescents through people in their 20s are the highest risk group. There are about one million new cases diagnosed per year across the country.

“It takes a person’s own immune system to keep the warts from reappearing,” Fritzsche said.

Fritzsche added that women should get a yearly pap smear test even if physical signs of the warts are absent. There are over 60 types of the virus and five types may lead to cancer of the cervix, penis, vulva and anus.

“We can’t tell which types are cancerous just by looking at them, so we get rid of all of the warts that we see,” Fritzsche said.

The most common bacteria-caused STD on the ISU campus is chlamydia. Symptoms include a burning sensation when urinating for both men and women and pelvic pain and increased vaginal discharge in women.

“At a time when condoms are so available and education is so plentiful, it’s discouraging that chlamydia and gonorrhea are so prevalent,” Fritzsche said. “People are hearing and understanding the messages but their behaviors are not changing.”

Nationwide, 33,000 Americans get an STD every day, according to Burroughs Welcome Co., a pharmaceutical company that is developing herpes treatments. Statistics also show at least one in four Americans will contract an STD at some point in their lives.

Pauline Miller, chief of medical staff at the Student Health Center, said she treats several people a week for HPV. Chlamydia is a distant second and gonorrhea is rare on campus, Miller said.

People should know that abstinence is the only sure way to avoid STDs, she added. But if they choose to have sex, people need to choose their partners carefully and use condoms, Miller said.

For those who think they may have an STD, tests are available at the Student Health Center. Appointments are not necessary and the office visit is free.