Women screened for the sexually transmitted infection Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) during their annual health exam may be treated for symptoms at an earlier stage of the infection, according to a recent study.

The Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association study screened women ages 16 to 25 to find out how many of the women were given CT screenings in the past year.

Of the 2,563 participants, 75 percent of the women in the study were said to be sexually active and more than half reported they had been tested for STIs. Seventy-three percent reported they had received pap smears or pelvic exams in the preceding 12 months, yet none reported having a CT screening at the time of their exam.

Through these results, researchers found that CT screening rates could be radically increased -- leading to the detection and treatment of the infection in women sooner -- if the CT tests were given at the time of a pelvic or pap smear.

"To the best of my knowledge, there is no law mandating [CT] testing. The tests are not required because patients always have the right to refuse any or all parts of an exam," Shelly Haffner, University Health Services (UHS) nurse manager, said.

Chlamydia, a bacterial infection, is more common than most would believe because the symptoms are not always apparent. Haffner said the test for chlamydia is similar to the test of gonorrhea, another sexually transmitted infection.

UHS offers a combined Chlamydia and gonorrhea test for $14.

UHS director Margaret Spear said UHS strongly encourages any woman who is sexually active to ask for a CT test during her annual health exam because it is not required to have the test taken.

All CT screenings are performed according to the consent of the patient.

"We believe that the patient -- i.e. student in this case -- has a choice, and we do not mandate or force them to do anything. We try to educate and provide enough information so that the student will be well informed and make the smart choice -- which usually is to be tested," Spear said.

All women who are under age 25 and are sexually active are encouraged to be tested for chlamydia at least annually, UHS nurse practitioner Carol Myers said.

Of the 3,000 women tested by UHS in 2006, 2.5 percent tested positive for Chlamydia. Of the 600 men tested, 6.4 percent tested positive for Chlamydia, Spear said.

She said the difference in the number of men and women tested was probably because of more women requesting to be tested for CT at the time of their annual health exam.

Spear said fewer men come to UHS to get tested for annual men's health exams as a preventative measure. Instead, they come in because they have symptoms of an STI.

CT could develop into a more serious disease in women known as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), Haffner said. If PID develops, a woman may need to be hospitalized and given IV antibiotics. PID may also cause scarring of the reproductive tract and could impact a woman's fertility.

"I think the fact that Penn State offers these tests says a lot about how much the school values its students' health," Laura Fetzner (sophomore-elementary education) said.

"I feel for the most part Penn State students try to be safe when making decisions considering their [sexual] health," she said.

Spear said UHS does make it a priority to keep students aware of the dangers in engaging in risky sexual behavior by making free condoms, information about birth control, brochures and counseling programs available to students at all times.

"The survey research that I have seen suggests that students are knowledgeable and well educated about these issues," Spear said.

"The problem is that the knowledge does not necessarily inform behavior," she said.