Using a new test that is quickly revolutionizing chlamydia control, a recent study by the STD Program has revealed alarmingly high levels of asymptomatic chlamydia in L.A. County adolescents. The Urine Chlamydia LCR Screening Project, initiated last March in conjunction with the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory, indicates that the number of chlamydia cases among local high school students is nearly two times higher than the 6,000 adolescent cases reported in 1995. Because most cases are asymptomatic, those infected often delay seeking treatment until serious conditions such as pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy have occurred.
Untreated chlamydia can lead to infertility in both men and women.
Until December 1995, when LCR was approved by the FDA, chlamydia testing for women required a pelvic exam, making routine screening at schools and other outreach sites too time consuming, costly and inconvenient to be widely implemented. Both LCR and PCR amplification tests are substantially more sensitive than other available tests, including EIA, DFA, nucleic acid probe, and culture. Funded by Abbott Laboratories, which developed LCR, the screening project was implemented to assess the test's practical applications and obtain reliable prevalence data from a population at high risk for chlamydia. The LCR study is being conducted at four school-based health clinics in L.A. County. Students using the clinics for reasons ranging from cold symptoms to HIV counseling are offered LCR testing.