Screening all women younger than 30 years of age may be the most cost-effective method of stopping or limiting chlamydial infections and their consequences according to an article in the February 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine . They calculated the cost-effectiveness of chlamydial screening by comparing total costs, including screening program costs, and estimating future medical costs of all sequelae.
Chlamydial infection is one of the leading sexually transmitted diseases in the United States today.
The CDC estimates that more than 4 million new cases occur each year. Pelvic inflammatory disease, a serious complication of chlamydial infection, has emerged as a major cause of infertility among women of childbearing age. Genital chlamydial infection is caused by the bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis , and is transmitted during vaginal or anal sexual contact with an infected partner. A pregnant woman may pass the infection to her newborn during delivery, with subsequent neonatal eye infection or pneumonia. In our study, 6.6 percent of women attending the Baltimore family planning clinics were found to be infected.