Redetection of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in Sexually Active Young Women

Efforts to control Chlamydia trachomatis infection include annual testing of women aged ≤24 and those with new partners. Do women who initially test positive need to be retested? Investigators enrolled sexually active female university students (age range, 16–27) who submitted self-obtained repeat vaginal swabs within a median of 16 months to assess incidence and risk factors for chlamydia infection and reinfection.

Among 907 women who tested negative at baseline, incidence of C. trachomatis infection was 3.4 per 100 person-years. New infections were associated with age <20 (relative risk, 4.0), a new partner (RR, 4.4), smoking (RR, 2.2), bacterial vaginosis (RR, 2.0), and high-risk human papillomavirus (RR, 2.2). In 12 of 47 women who teste…