Chlamydia Tests: What To Think About

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What To Think About

• If a chlamydia infection is suspected, do not have sexual intercourse until the test results have come back. If you have a chlamydia infection, do not have sexual intercourse for 7 days after the start of treatment. Your sex partner should also be treated for a chlamydia infection so you do not get reinfected and so others do not get infected.
• Only one laboratory test (NAAT, ELISA, DFA, DNA probe testing, or chlamydia culture) is needed to diagnose chlamydia. Your health professional can choose which test to use.
• Your health professional is required to report your chlamydia infection to the state health department so the department can contact your sex partners to inform them that they also need treatment.
• Screening for and treating chlamydia can help prevent developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). For more information on the treatment of a chlamydia infection, see the topic Chlamydia.
• Other sexually transmitted diseases may be present at the same time as chlamydia so it is important to be tested and treated for all STDs. Chlamydia as well as other STDs can also increase the chance of getting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). An HIV test may be offered at the same time as a test for chlamydia or other STDs.

Last updated:	February 05, 2007
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH - Infectious Disease
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer