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Upward trend in chlamydia cases extends to Army

More soldiers are being treated for chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease whose reported cases are also on the rise among the civilian population.

The number of chlamydia cases reported at Army medical facilities by active and reserve-component soldiers has steadily risen from 6,138 in 2004 to 8,192 in 2008. Reporting so far in 2009 indicates a continuing upward trend.

Army medical professionals say they cannot attribute the rise to any particular cause.

“I’m not aware of any social changes in the Army that would account for a steady rise,” said Col. Robert DeFraites, director of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.

The increase in reported cases among soldiers could also be attributed to the growth of the Army’s end strength, he said.

Chlamydia is among the most prevalent of all sexually transmitted diseases and, since 1994, has made up the largest proportion of all STDs, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infection is transmitted through any kind of sex.

Chlamydia can cause pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancies and pelvic inflammatory disease, a leading cause of infertility in women. Symptoms can include itching, unusual discharge, burning during urination, lower abdominal pain and testicular swelling and pain.

Because victims may show no symptoms for some time, the disease can go undetected. It is treated with a regimen of antibiotics.

Civilian and military health professionals were unable to point to new causes for the increase, speculating instead that women, who are more susceptible to the long-term effects of the infection, have better access to detection methods.

“The increased rates are likely to represent an increase in screening,” said CDC spokeswoman Nikki Kay, who pointed out that reporting of cases around the U.S. went up after the government health and prevention organization recommended that physicians screen all women under the age of 26.

According to 2007 data from CDC, the latest available, reported cases in the 50 states and the District of Columbia rose 7.5 percent between 2006 and 2007. The increase in reported cases in the Army for the same period was about 2 percent.

Testing in the Army begins at the soldier’s first duty station. Female soldiers younger than age 30 are tested for chlamydia in annual gynecological exams, but men are not.

The risk of infection and spreading the disease to others, DeFraites said, can be lowered with use of a latex condom, early detection and notification of a problem to all sex partners.