Content Information
A. Isolation and Quarantine Requirements
None.
B. Protection of Contacts of a Case
The Iowa Department of Public Health may initiate voluntary partner services with persons who have been diagnosed with Chlamydia Trachomatis infection. Healthcare providers can facilitate this process by describing the program to the patient and encouraging the patient to meet with the department’s Disease Prevention Specialist assigned to his or her region.
Patients who may receive partner services for Chlamydia infection include:
- Those aged 18 and under
- Those seen in an E.R.
- Those who are pregnant
- Those who are re-infected
- Those who are not treated
- Those who are co-infected with another STD
- Those who do not fit any other category, but in which the health care provider specifically requests partner services
Patients’ names and times of exposure are not used in the notification of partners. Referral for testing and treatment are offered to all partners. Appropriate referrals for other services are provided.
Physicians may assist the Disease Prevention Specialist with collecting partner information. In such cases, the healthcare provider should collect the following information: partner name, address, home phone number, age and/or date of birth, race, sex, partner marital status, height, size/build, general description of the partner, and dates of first and last exposure. Any other information that may help in locating and counseling the partner may also be included, such as medical conditions, place of employment, cell phone numbers, or other unusual circumstances/situations. Providers should report any partner treatment.
Patients who fall outside of the above criteria for assisted partner services should be encouraged to inform their partners of the need for testing and treatment. The targeted partners include all sexual partners within 60 days of date of onset of symptoms or within 60 days of the date of positive test – whichever is greater. If there have been no sexual partners within 60 days, the most recent partner should be informed.
Partner-delivered therapy/ Expedited Partner Therapy: When a patient has partners who may not be willing or who may be unable to submit to testing, partner-delivered therapy is an option. A physician, physician assistant, or advanced registered nurse practitioner who diagnoses a sexually transmitted chlamydial or gonococcal infection may prescribe, dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide prescription oral antibiotic drugs to that patient's sexual partner or partners without examination of the partner(s) (see Iowa Code 139A.41). If the infected individual patient is unwilling or unable to deliver such prescription drugs to a sexual partner or partners, a physician, physician assistant, or advanced registered nurse practitioner may dispense, furnish, or otherwise provide the prescription drugs to the department or local disease prevention investigation staff for delivery to the partner or partners. Medications or prescriptions should be provided for all partners who have been sexually exposed to the patient within the two months prior to diagnosis or within the two months prior to the onset of symptoms, whichever is greater. However, expedited partner therapy should not be used if the partner is a pregnant woman or if the patient is a man who has sex with other men (MSM).
C. Managing Special Situations
Reported Incidence Is Higher than Usual/Outbreak Suspected
Report unusual cases to Iowa HHS at 515-281-3031.
D. Preventive Measures
Preventive Measures/Education
Risk reduction counseling/education and testing should be offered to all persons with risk for Chlamydia trachomatis infection and transmission.
The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual contact, or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and is known to be uninfected.
Latex condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of chlamydia transmission.
Chlamydia screening is recommended annually for all sexually active women 25 years of age and younger. All pregnant women should have a screening test for chlamydia. Women older than 25 years whose sexual practices put them at risk for chlamydial infection should be tested at least once a year. It has been shown that screening and treatment of chlamydial infection of the cervix reduces the likelihood of PID.
The Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2010 STD Treatment Guidelines recommend specific STD prevention services that should be provided for all sexually active men who have sex with men (MSM). The first recommendation for this population is that STD screening be performed at least annually.
Any genital symptoms such as discharge or burning during urination or unusual sore or rash should be a signal to stop having sex and to consult a healthcare provider immediately. If a person has been treated for chlamydia (or any other STD), he/she should notify all recent sex partners to see a healthcare provider and be treated. This will reduce the risk that the sex partners will develop serious complications from chlamydia, and will also reduce the person’s risk of becoming re-infected. The person and all of his or her sex partners must avoid sex until treatment is completed.
An infected patient treated for chlamydia should be tested for other sexually transmitted diseases.
See HIVTest.org for a current list of sites that can provide STD testing.
Iowa Dept. of Public Health, Revised 7/15