Why Is This Important?

Infections caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis are the most frequently reported notifiable disease in the United States. Chlamydia infections in both men and women are commonly asymptomatic, yet screenings occurring mostly among females produce higher rates of reported infections. Females with chlamydia infection are at risk for developing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and pregnant women with chlamydia can pass the infection to their infant during delivery, potentially resulting in pneumonia or neonatal ophthalmia. Both men and women may become infertile as a result of untreated chlamydia infections and susceptibility to more serious infections such as HIV also increases when an individual is infected with chlamydia.

Definition

Rate of newly reported chlamydia trachomatis infections by diagnosis date per 100,000 females aged 15-24 years

Data Notes

Data Sources

• Communicable Disease Reporting and Surveillance System (CRDSS); Sexually Transmitted Disease Program; Division of HIV/AIDS, STD and TB Services; New Jersey Department of Health
  (http://www.nj.gov/health/hivstdtb/stds/)
• Population Estimates, State Data Center, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  (https://www.nj.gov/labor/labormarketinformation/demographics/population-household-estimates/)

How the Measure is Calculated

• Numerator:

  Number of newly reported chlamydia infections among females aged 15-24 years

• Denominator:

  Total number of females aged 15-24 years in the population

Related Health Objectives and Indicators

Related Health Status Outcomes Indicators:

• Gonorrhea Incidence
• Syphilis Incidence - Primary and Secondary

Health Topic Pages Related to: Chlamydia Infections

• Infectious and Communicable Diseases