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 Health & Beauty | June 2005 
Chlamydia Testing at Home
 Karen Barrow - ABC News
The stigma associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and the potentially uncomfortable experience of having a pelvic exam prevent many young women from seeking routine screenings for chlamydia. But a new study shows that an at-home test-kit may give women the privacy they need to determine if they have this disease.
"Teenagers and young adults are frequently left unaware for years that they have chlamydia because symptoms may not appear for long periods after infection," said Charlotte Gaydos, MS, PhD, associate professor of medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in a statement about the test.
Getting "The Clap"
In a study presented today at a general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, Gaydos said she was optimistic about the increased numbers of young women who would be willing to use at-home chlamydia screening kits. About 3 million Americans develop chlamydia each year, but few are screened.
"The clap," as it is known, is a bacterial infection that is transmitted through sexual contact, either vaginally or anally. It often has no symptoms, so someone with the disease may be spreading it without even realizing. Over time, the bacteria multiply and may cause symptoms such as a yellowish vaginal or penile discharge and pain when urinating. As the disease gets worse, abdominal or pelvic pain may also occur.
These symptoms are very nonspecific and can lead to a diagnosis of any number of infections. Very often, women don't seek medical treatment, assuming that it is a urinary tract infection that will pass with time. And unfortunately, the symptoms may pass, making it even less likely that someone will seek treatment.
Left untreated, however, chlamydia can cause major problems, especially for women. While in men, it may cause infections of the prostate or testicles, chlamydia can lead to infertility in women—which again can go unnoticed for many years until the woman wants to conceive.
At-Home Testing
Unfortunately, many young adults are uncomfortable seeing a doctor about a possible STD. So, the current study looked at the effectiveness of at-home tests. Free chlamydia tests were made available to women in Baltimore for six months. They could be ordered over the Internet or picked up from one of 250 participating pharmacies and recreation centers. The unmarked brown envelopes contained a sterile vaginal swab, instructions for use and a postage-paid return envelope to a lab for testing. Results were available within two weeks over a password-protected phone service.
Almost 87 percent of the 1,100 kits distributed were requested via the Internet and half of them were requested by women under the age of 25. Almost all of the women rated the tests as easy to use. Of the 400 samples sent back to Hopkins for testing, 10 percent were positive for chlamydia. Even more encouraging, 95 percent of the women who found out they were infected, sought treatment at one of the recommended clinics.
Even though the at-home tests are not yet available, these results show that women will seek out at-home screenings for diseases and even follow up with a visit to a doctor for treatment. "The home test kit is important because it offers physicians and nurses another tool in efforts to reduce the spread of chlamydia," Gaydos said.
Treating and Preventing Chlamydia
It would be great if chlamydia transmission could be prevented altogether, and although using a condom greatly reduces your risk of getting any STD, condoms aren't 100 percent effective. A condom may break or a couple may not be careful about using one before every sexual encounter. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all people under the age of 25 who are sexually active be regularly screened for the disease.
"Teenagers who are sexually active with multiple partners need to be screened whenever they see their physician," said Brian Boyle, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Since screenings are especially important for women, it is recommended that sexually active women see their gynecologist yearly. An in-office screening can be done, along with a pelvic exam and Pap smear. Concerned young men can have a screening from their primary care doctor. If chlamydia is found, it is usually easily treated with an oral antibiotic.
Based on the positive results of the chlamydia test, the researchers hope to expand their study to offer at-home kits to women in the District of Columbia. They are also developing further tests for at-home screening of other STDs, including human papillomavirus (HPV) and HIV. |
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