Taking female genital swabs

Just over 8 per cent of young people aged 15 to 24 years, out of 1.7 million tested in 2013, tested positive
for genital Chlamydia trachomatis (Public Health England, 2014a). This sexually transmitted bacterial
infection is asymptomatic in 70 per cent of women, although it may cause vaginal discharge, post-coital
bleeding, dysuria, lower abdominal pain, deep dyspareunia and cervicitis (Lazero, 2013). More than 50 per
cent of men with chlamydia are asymptomatic when tested in community settings. Two-thirds of the sexual
partners of people diagnosed with chlamydia also have this infection. If untreated, chlamydia infection can
persist for years (Public Health England, 2014b). Complications of untreated chlamydia, such as infertility
and pelvic inflammatory disease, are estimated to cost more than £100 million a year (Lazero, 2013).