A Review of Evidence on Partner Notification Practices for Chlamydia

Chlamydia is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Canada and is recognized as an important public health concern. Laboratory confirmed cases of Chlamydia trachomatis have been nationally notifiable to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) since 1990; PHAC surveillance data show steadily rising rates of Chlamydia since 1997 (1). Similar increases have been documented in other nations (2), and are at least partially attributable to improved screening and the development of more sensitive tests in the mid-1990s (i.e. nucleic acid amplification tests, or NAATs) (3). The trend may also reflect changes in sexual practices or, possibly, the unintentional effects of early treatment on levels of immunity in the population, as some theorists have proposed (e.g. Brunham and Rekart, 2008 cited in (1)). Regardless of the causal factors involved, the trend raises questions about how Canadian public health strategies should respond.