Prevalence of Asymptomatic Chlamydial Cervical Infection in Active Duty Army Females

Four hundred seventy-six consecutive active duty Army females who presented for routine pap smears were screened for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea. Thirty-nine of 476 (8.2%) tested positive for chlamydia using the Chlamydiazyme enzyme immunoassay. All patients with positive tests for chlamydia were asymptomatic and had normal pelvic exams. The average age of patients testing positive for chlamydia was 23.9. Only 6 of the 39 patients with chlamydia were older than 30. Tests for gonorrhea and pap smear results had little correlation with patients testing positive for chlamydia. The high prevalence of chlamydia in this population of asymptomatic women makes it probable that screening similar populations of patients would be more cost-effective than treating the complications of this disease.