Scientists develop ‘instant’ chlamydia test
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a new test to detect the relatively common sexually transmitted disease chlamydia.
Known as the invisible illness because it is symptomless in 70% of women and 50% of men, chlamydia is a bacterial infection that can easily be cured by antibiotics. But because many people are unaware that they have the infection they do not seek medical help. If untreated chlamydia can cause infertility in women and can lead to problems during pregnancy and birth defects.
Doctors hope that the speed and less invasive nature of the new test will encourage more people to be tested.
The ‘Firstburst’ dipstick test involves a self-collected urinal or vaginal swab from patients that can then be tested for chlamydia within half an hour. At 50p per test it is also far cheaper than the current methods available.
That is a big advantage in developing countries where chlamydia can cause blindness in new-born babies.
Lead researcher Dr. Helen Lee commented: ‘It’s vital the test is instant and not expensive. If you’re living in a country where you have to walk for several hours or even a day to get to a clinic it’s extremely unlikely you would bother to make the return trip a week later to get the result of a check-up.’
‘Also the healthcare spend per person in many developing countries is just a few pounds a year so they can’t afford to have expensive diagnostics.’
92 million new cases of chlamydia are recorded by the World Health Organisation every year. In the UK, the incidence of chlamydia has more than doubled between 1996 and 2001 to more than 67,000 cases a year.
