Fewer than half of vulnerable U.S. women are being screened for Chlamydia, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although screening rates increased from 25 percent in 2000 to nearly 42 percent in 2007, there are still far too few women being screened, the CDC says. 

Chlamydia cases reached an all-time high in the U.S. in 2007. And women reported three times more cases than men. The CDC estimates that more than half of all cases are either undiagnosed or unreported, pushing the actual total cases for 2007 to about 2.8 million. Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease that often causes few symptoms but, if untreated, can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. While Chlamydia can be cured with antibiotics, studies suggest that these infections can increase the risk of HIV in both men and women.

Get screened for Chlamydia each year if you are a sexually active woman under age 26 or an older woman with new or multiple sex partners. Pregnant women should be screened as well. If your doctor doesn’t suggest it, ask for it. And use condoms consistently and correctly to reduce the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

—Ginger Skinner

Get more information on Chlamydia. And for more on antibiotics that cure Chlamydia, see our Treatment Ratings (subscribers only).