health

Chlamydia is not always diagnosed promptly because so many people who
are infected have no symptoms and may not go to a doctor. In May 2007,
the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended
annual screening for chlamydia of all sexually active women age
25 and younger, as well as other women at high risk for infection who
do not have symptoms. In addition, many people who do have symptoms
of chlamydia are also infected with HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis, or other
STDs. It is now common for doctors to test patients for these other diseases
to determine which disease is causing the patient’s symptoms.
Chlamydia can be diagnosed in both men and women by a simple
urine test. Another test that can be used is a laboratory culture of a smear
taken from a woman’s cervix (the lower end of the uterus), the opening
of the urethra at the tip of a man’s penis, or the anus.