by Scott McCullar
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Thursday, May 1, 1 QSeTThe Battalion/Page 5 ^
Most common
VD hitting A&M
By Daryn DeZengotita
Reporter
About seven Texas A&M students
a day discover they’ve been infected
by the country’s most prevalent sex
ually transmitted disease. It exhibits
no symptoms, but can have devastat
ing effects.
In 1986, 4.6 million cases of chla
mydia will be diagnosed, yet it re
mains virtually unknown.
Dr. Claude Goswick, director of
the A.P. Beutel Health Center said,
“Without a doubt, this is the most
commonly seen and treated sexually
transmitted disease.”
Chlamydia traucomitis, also called
nonspecific or non-gonococcal
urethritis, is a urological disease. It
attacks the reproductive system, of
ten exhibits no symptoms and can
lead to painful pelvic inflammation,
miscarriages and infertility.
According to the April 2 1 issue of
Newsweek, the 4.6 million expected
cases are more than twice the ex
pected cases of gonorrhea while the
expected number of AIDS cases is
15,000.
Studies of some college students
show that the infection rate on cam
puses may be as high as 10 percent.
“This organism is not really a true
bacteria or a true virus. It’s some
where in between,” Goswick said. “It
is probably closer to bacteria in most
of its characteristics. It happens,
luckily, to be sensitive to tetracycline,
a commonly used antibiotic.”
Dr. Eugene Washington, assistant
to the director of the sexually trans
mitted disease unit at the Center for
Disease Control in Atlanta, says chla
mydia has been ignored in the face
of other diseases.
While he calls the public-health
consequences of AIDS “tremen-
fcuubass\
scientist’s idea
lay aid road paving
sense and
think aw!
i should
ricans, bul
By Yvonne DeGraw
Reporter
icn Dr. Donald Saylak was
|o testify in a case where two
cameras It were badly burned in a fire
le, and is laying an experimental sulfur-
ill not be a lttroad, he asked himself, “Isn’t
s a better way?”
t just so happens at that time I
_ eating some candy-coated
vis;” he said, “and I wondered
I couldn’t coat the asphalt with
its,
igs,
le pellets he developed from
ea may completely change the
ads are paved, he said.
|ik, a materials scientist in
ts A&M’s civil engineering de-
pnt, said he has applied for a
nt through A&M’s Institute for
ures in New Technologies.
" tally, asphalt is stored and
transported at temperatures around
300 degrees set it can be pumped, he
said. It must be mixed with aggre
gate (small rocks), which has been
heated to drive out moisture, he
said.
Since 1975 scientists have experi
mented with sulfur-extended as
phalt for several reasons, Saylak
said. Sulfur acts as a binder, com
pensates for low quality aggregate
and is less expensive than asphalt, he
said.
But sulfur also poses practical and
safety problems. If it gets too cold,
below 240 degrees, it can crystallize
and solidify in storage tanks. If it
gets too hot, above 310 degrees, it
can give off toxic fumes.
Saylak said the pellets will be espe
cially useful in situations where
roads must be laid quickly.
Lawsuit to halt TECAT grading hits snag
AUSTIN (AP) — A lawsuit to stop
37 South Texas teachers’ compe
tency tests from being graded hit a
snag Wednesday over the question
of how to resolve broader legal chal
lenges to public school reform legis
lation.
The specific issue before the
Texas Supreme Court was a Webb
County case in which State District
Judge Ruben Garcia directed the
Texas Education Agency to cease
scoring and turn over to him 37 tea
chers’ answer sheets from the March
10 statewide examination.
The teachers’ lawyers had argued
that their clients had been certified
before the competency law went into
effect and were entitled to retain
that lifetime certification.
The Supreme Gourt blocked Gar
cia’s order pending Wednesday’s
hearing at which lawyers for the
TEA and the teachers presented ar
guments.
Kevin O’Hanlon of the state attor
ney general’s office said Garcia had
If even 5 percent of the
teachers fail what is ba
sically a literacy test, that
would mean that 300,000
Texas students are being
taught by teachers who
can’t read or write.
— Kevin O’Hanlon of the
state attorney general’s of
fice
no jurisdiction to act because the is
sue had to be raised in Travis
Gounty, home of the TEA. The
TEA seeks to rescind Garcia’s order
granting a temporary injunction.
Since test papers have been
graded and teachers are scheduled
to learn Monday whether they
passed. Chief Justice John Hill asked
O’Hanlon if Garcia’s injunction
would be moot if the high court stay
remained in effect one more week.
O’Hanlon said it would but added
that the TEA needed guidance on
court challenges because a number
of new cases are expected after the
teachers find out the test results.
O’Hanlon and Donato Ramos of
Laredo, lawyer for the 37 teachers,
agreed that the case did not address
the constitutionality of the compe
tency test.
But they said the larger issue, as
well as others, is addressed in a suit
by the Texas State Teachers Associa
tion challenging the Texas Examina
tion of Current Administrators, or
TECAT. The teachers’ association
lost in state district court, and ap
pealed to the 3rd Court of Appeals.
O’Hanlon said if even 5 percent of
the teachers fail what is basically a lit
eracy test, that would mean that
300,000 Texas students are being
taught by teachers who can’t read or
write.
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dous,” Washington contends that ch
lamydia is also a major problem. But
defining the size of that problem,
not an easy chore, is the first step in
attracting research money.
Health regulations in many states
do not require reports of cases of ch
lamydia. Therefore, some research
ers consider the CDC’s estimate of
4.6 million cases this year to be con
servative. The actual number may be
as high as 10 million cases.
Goswick said symptoms include
those usually involved with sexually
transmitted diseases, such as ureth
ral discharge, which is much more
pronounced in males than females,
or a mild burning sensation during
and increased frequency of urina
tion.
But about 70 percent of all cases
show no symptoms.
The disease is treated using a high
dose of tetracycline on a ten-day
schedule. Sexual partners are
usually treated simultaneously.
Goswick said tetracycline may not
be effective in a few individuals, but
99 percent of the time, patients are
treated and that’s the end of it.
“Of course, you can get it again,”
he said. “Many of these guys don’t
realize that just because they’ve been
treated once doesn’t mean they can’t
get it again.”
The Health Center lab reports the
cases of chlamydia for statistical pur
poses to the health department. The
department also will treat the disease
and will get involved with tracking
down affected sex partners when
necessary.
Goswick said people should take
the initiative by being more careful
in their choice of sexual partners
and by using barrier methods of
contraception.
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