Eighty-two percent of UW-Madison students are participating in oral sex, according to a recent University Health Services survey.
A study conducted by representatives of UHS presented Monday suggested a large portion of those students probably do not fully understand the risks involved with related infections, such as genital herpes.
The report states that herpes simplex virus type 1, generally associated with oral herpes, or cold sores, is a growing cause of genital herpes on the UW-Madison campus.
\What we think this indicates is people are not protecting themselves when they have oral sex,"" said Scott Spear, director of UHS clinical services.
The report states that in 2001, 78 percent of genital herpes infections diagnosed at UHS were caused by HSV-1, which was traditionally thought to cause 30 percent of such cases. This trend does not exist statewide, Spear said, where the rate at which HSV-1 is accounted for genital herpes infections is more steady.
This may be because oral sex and unprotected oral sex is more common on a college campus, Spear added.
Craig Roberts, a UHS epidemiologist who was one of the presenters Monday in San Diego at the National Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention Conference, said another possible explanation for the numbers was ""changing sexual practices"" among college students.
""People are becoming more experimental,"" said Meredith Schonfeld-Hicks, a UW-Madison freshman and intern at Sex Out Loud, a campus organization aiming to educate people about such issues.
""Some people view oral sex as safe sex and they don't understand they can transmit sexually transmitted infections through oral sex.""
Visits to UHS often show how students do not know this, Spear said.
""What we see anecdotally and what this study is suggesting is that when we tell people, 'Did you know you can give a partner genital herpes when you have a cold sore on your lips?' this is oftentimes great news to them,"" he said. ""We want this not to be news.""
In general, Schonfeld-Hicks said she did not feel the majority of students were ignorant of safe-sex issues, just sometimes confused. She said students reacted positively to information given to them by Sex Out Loud, ""because they may not have asked for it by themselves.""
The study presented in San Diego showed HSV-1 is more common in females than males, and more common in ages 16 to 21 than older ages.
The herpes virus, which an individual has for life once it has been contracted, is especially dangerous during a pregnancy. But while it is unpleasant, it is not a ""terrible disease,"" Spear said.
""As students are looking at the risk of things they do, this may be an acceptable risk for them.\
