Screening and treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections.

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. 2 Numbers of diagnoses have increased over the past 10 years as a result of more sensitive tests and increased testing. Genital infection with C trachomatis is asymptomatic in 50-88% of men and women, and 46% of infections clear spontaneously within a year. Persistent chlamydia infection can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and tubal infertility in women and epididymitis and epididymo-orchitis in men. Here, we describe the diagnosis and management of chlamydia and discuss control strategies. Guidance on the laboratory diagnosis and treatment of chlamydia has a strong evidence base, but evidence on the natural course of infection and optimum control strategies is less robust.