March 18, 2004

Imagine this: It's a Friday night. You and a date decide to catch a late movie.

Armed with popcorn, soda and candy, you snuggle deeply into your chair, noticing that the theater is packed.

Waiting for the movie to begin, you and your date read all the ads that show up on the screen before showtime.

An unusual one shows up on the screen. It simply asks one question: "What is chlamydia?"

The audience becomes oddly silent. Your date becomes fascinated with his popcorn, studiously oblivious to the question.

However, your thoughts are jumbled as you quietly try to find an answer to the question.

Did you get the right answer?

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease. It is a bacterial infection transmitted through unprotected sex.

Three million American women and men become infected every year. Chlamydia is four times as common as gonorrhea, more than 30 times as common as syphilis, and most common among men and women under 25.

For every person with herpes, there are six with chlamydia. Most women and about half of all men who contract chlamydia have no symptoms.

In Stanislaus County, there are 1,000 cases every year.

Chlamydia is easily treated and cured with antibiotics. The biggest problem, health officials say, is the lack of education within the community.

But working to fix that problem is a group of teenagers and young adults devoted to educating the public about chlamydia.

The group is CHAP, which stands for Community Health Action Plan. Its goal is to educate Stanislaus County youth and adults about sexually transmitted diseases.

CHAP is a coalition of representatives from four community organizations: Stanislaus County Public Health, Stanislaus Community Assistance Project, Haven Women's Center and Teen Life Challenge.

Perhaps what is most unusual about this organization is that the youth and adult representatives have the same responsibilities and decision-making power.

Funded by the state Department of Public Health, CHAP has several avenues to inform the public about chlamydia:

Its Web site, www.gochap.com, which offers links and information.

The preshow slides at Brenden Theatres. The question-and-answer slides test the public's knowledge of chlamydia and give a hot-line number to call for information (558-7837).

An educational video about the life of a man infected with chlamydia. It has been shown in some high school classes and continuation schools through a peer-education program.

B-bags. B-bag stands for brown bag. In the 95351 ZIP code, people can go into certain convenience stores and ask for a B-bag. A brown bag filled with condoms will be given, no questions asked.

Laura Diven, 23, a member of CHAP, said: "I know we will make a difference, because each piece of information is power. We want to empower our youth to make positive choices. We also want to empower adults and to give comprehensive information."

Shelby Scoffield, 16, is a junior at Beyer High School and is a member of The Bee's Teens in the Newsroom journalism program.