Private MD News

Faster chlamydia testing may become available soon

Category: Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most common reported infection in the U.S., with an estimated 1.1 million people who contracted the disease in 2007, according to numbers from the CDC. The numbers have been rising systematically for the last few years. It is most common in women ages 15-24 and if left untreated can result in pelvic inflammatory disease and even infertility.

Chlamydia testing is important because the disease easily passes back and forth between partners and often there are no symptoms, allowing someone to be repeatedly infected over a long period of time. Chlamydia infection can lead to a host of other complications, including an increased chance to become infected by the HIV virus or pass it on to others.

Researchers are investigating new ways to test for the disease, hoping to develop a test that will be fast, accurate and simple. According to Health Day, one of the advantages of a quicker test would be to allow someone with the disease to get treated quickly, reducing the amount of time they are in danger of passing on the infection to someone else.

Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics once diagnosed.