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Chlamydia trachomatis infections in female soldiers, Israel.

Article Excerpt
We examined the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in Israeli female soldiers. The prevalence was 3.2% among soldiers seeking medical care; rural residence was identified as a significant risk factor. Nevertheless, given the study design, recommending broad-scale screening of Israeli female soldiers may be premature.

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Recent studies from the United States and Europe report hat the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis ranges from 5% to 20% in sexually active persons (1,2). Among women, the consequences of the disease include pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility, sequelae often accompanied by a substantial economic impact (3). Most importantly, for up to 80% of infected women, infection is asymptomatic, resulting in failure to seek timely medical care and the exacerbation of such sequelae (4). Consequently, screening programs have been recommended to reduce infection, transmission, and disease consequences (4,5). However, before such programs are universally advocated, since the cost-effectiveness of such control programs is at least partially contingent upon disease prevalence (5), more data are required to assess the extent to which such prevalence rates may indeed be generalizable to other countries and populations.

Epidemiologic research indicates that prevalence rates of C. trachomatis vary, with a number of risk factors accounting for a substantial portion of this variance (4). For example, in the landmark study by Gaydos et al., significant risk factors for the prevalence of this infection among American female military recruits included age (women <25 years of age were at higher risk), vaginal intercourse, lack of condom use, and multiple...