Recent pilot studies of chlamydia screening

The recent pilot studies of chlamydia screening in Portsmouth and the Wirral show that there is a substantial burden of chlamydial infection in young women and that high uptake of screening and good coverage of the target population can be achieved.1,2 This is important. However, the pilot studies do not demonstrate the effectiveness of chlamydia screening in reducing either morbidity or the prevalence of infection (nor were they designed to do this). In fact, further screening (in the recall study3) of the same target group in the same settings, approximately 16 months after …