Giving medicine to the woman to bring to her partner makes it easier for the partner to get treated. Based on those results, the San Francisco Office of Public Health changed the treatment policy in its clinics in 2000. Chlamydia trachomatis is a common sexually transmitted disease that may go undiagnosed in a man for years. Women experience itching, burning and vaginal discharge, and often seek treatment. If their partners are not also treated, says Dr. Kissinger, they will probably get reinfected.
Untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility.
The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of recommending partner referral in comparison to giving women additional oral azithromycin to give to their partners. A total of 1,828 women between 14 and 34 years old in seven U.S. cities were given treatment and randomly assigned to either a partner referral program or given the medicine for their partners. They were tested for reinfection at one and four months after their treatment. Women who were told to refer their partner for treatment were slightly more likely to get reinfected with chlamydia than women who gave their partners anti-chlamydial medicine. According to Dr Kissinger, untreated chlamydia, like all sexually transmitted diseases, can increase the risk of HIV transmission as well as endanger a woman's long-term reproductive health.