DECATUR - In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in four teenage girls is infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

Illinois Department of Public Health statistics for 2006 revealed that Macon County youth are part of the frightening trend.

In 2006, 30 percent of gonorrhea cases and 44 percent of chlamydia cases in Macon County occurred in residents between the ages of 10 and 19. And the county ranked in the top 15 for its number of cases of both diseases that year. The results are compiled from positive tests reported to the state, but there is no way to estimate the number of unreported cases, public health officials said.

"Some of the smaller counties, if they get one case, they've got a big case rate, but we had 533 cases ?" Debby Durbin, Macon County Health Department director of nursing, said of the county's gonorrhea rates in 2006. "To me, that says we've got a problem."

Gonorrhea was on the rise statewide in 2005 and 2006, Durbin said. Macon County had the highest rate per 100,000 cases in the state in 2006 but worked to lower it considerably in 2007, she said. Locally, those between 15 and 30 are facing the most STD infection, health department officials said.

"I don't think they're thinking about sexually transmitted diseases when they're having sex," Durbin said, citing lack of awareness as a major problem.

Last month, the department held a summit to discuss a $10,000 grant it received from Illinois Department of Public Health to promote STD awareness and prevention efforts within the community.

Representatives from local schools and youth programs, New Life Pregnancy Center, Planned Parenthood and other organizations talked about ways to use the grant. They suggested parent forums, Internet advertising and more emphasis on peer education as possibilities. Durbin said she anticipates a town hall meeting on the topic will be scheduled.

Local health officials urged all who are sexually active to remember safer sex practices.

"I would say that before you start a new relationship, be tested," Suzanne Jacobs, the department's STD clinic manager said.

"I think there's a lack of awareness that they may need the testing," Durbin said of many people being infected. "I don't think that they think that it really applies to them, necessarily."

The testing process at the health department is fairly simple. Patients must bring proof of identification and $15 or a current medical card. Youngsters still in school pay $10. Free condoms are available for those 12 and older at the front desk of the health department.

The clinic tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV and syphilis, and women are tested for yeast, trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis. A disease intervention specialist also goes through a risk assessment questionnaire with each patient. Jacobs said the twice-weekly clinics stay busy, with 10 to 20 people at each.

"We easily have over 100 a month," Durbin said. "And they're not all positive, and they're not all here because they have a problem. Some of them just want to be tested. They want to be aware."

In the next year, the health department plans to put more of an emphasis on youth-centered prevention.

"They haven't had us for quite awhile, years," Durbin said of local schools. "But I think they were made aware of these statistics, and they're very interested, I think, in having us come again."

Some area groups already have been raising awareness among youth. Shireen Schrock, statewide vice president for community education for Planned Parenthood of Illinois, oversees the Bloomington office's peer educator program. The program was modeled after Decatur's, which has been used for more than 20 years.

Peer educators are high school students who are paid, part-time employees of the agency, and the program is funded in part through Illinois Department of Human Services teen pregnancy prevention initiatives.

"It's based on the idea that young people are talking to young people about sex anyway," Schrock said.

Instead of these dialogues fostering myths and misinformation, the program cultivates young people to be experts, she said. They go through comprehensive 60-hour sexuality education training in the summer and meet throughout the school year. They work in their schools and communities to tackle topics such as abstinence, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, communication skills and healthy relationships.

"We work with the schools, and we work within the schools," Schrock said. "But we do understand that the schools have limitations."

The educators have the power to use their roles as students and teens to create meaningful teaching moments with their peers, but they draw the line at making decisions for people, Schrock said.

The agency recognizes that parents are going to be the primary source of education, she said. And peer educators are encouraged to form open, honest relationships with their own parents or guardians. Jacobs and Durbin also said the community could benefit from a more open attitude toward discussing sexual health issues.

"Apply it to yourself and your family, and sit down and talk to your kids about it," Durbin said.

The earlier the dialogue starts, the better, they advised, urging parents to emphasize the values regularly.

"Even if they don't say anything about sex at all," Schrock said. "They're still going to be sending a message to their kids."

Annie Getsinger can be reached at agetsinger@herald-review.com or 421-6968.