TREATMENT FAILURE HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR CHLAMYDIA TRANSMISSION AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCREENING PROGRAMMES

Abstract

It is generally considered that current treatment regimens for chlamydia treatment are highly effective, achieving a cure rate of around 97%. Some recent studies, however, suggest that treatment failure may occur at a rate that is substantially higher than previously thought. We use a mathematical transmission model to estimate the population-level impact of treatment failure on chlamydia transmission and on the effectiveness of screening strategies in reducing chlamydia prevalence. We assume treatment failure rates ranging from 3% (baseline) to a maximum of 23% in the context of female-only and female-plus-male screening programmes where between 15% and 50% annual screening coverage is achi..