The purpose of screening is early diagnosis and treatment. Screening tests are usually administered to people without current symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain diseases or conditions.

Screening for chlamydia is done only for sexually transmitted forms and is especially important for pregnant women to prevent neonatal infections.

Screening Guidelines

Anyone is able to contract chlamydia after unprotected sexual contact with someone who is infected. All pregnant women and anyone with any ]]>sexually transmitted disease]]> should be suspected of having a chlamydial infection. All those who are not treated routinely should be screened.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Preventive Services Task Force have issued recommendations for chlamydia screening. The CDC recommends yearly testing for:

  • Sexually active women age 25 or younger
  • Older women with risk factors for chlamydial infections (eg, those who have a new sex partner or multiple sex partners)
  • All pregnant women

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening of sexually active women 24 years of age and younger and pregnant women over 24 who are at high risk. The Task Force concluded that there was not enough evidence to support screening for men, and made no recommendation for or against screening low risk pregnant women.