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In the management of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the holy grail is a screening test for which specimens are easily obtained and results are both reliable and sufficiently rapid to allow same-day treatment of infected patients.
Worldwide, Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most common bacterial STD. Left untreated, it can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. In developed countries, screening programs generally have relied on nucleic acid amplification tests for diagnosis. In resource-poor settings, however, a major obstacle to routine screening has been the lack of an inexpensive, simple, rapid diagnostic assay. Researchers in England (2 of whom hold equity in a company that develops diagnosti…