The prevalence of genital chlamydia for blacks is three times higher than is the national average for people aged 14-39 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The national prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis for all people aged 14-39 years was 1.7% during 2007-2012. At 5.2%, non-Hispanic blacks had the highest rate, with non-Hispanic whites at lowest prevalence at 0.8% and Mexican-Americans at 2.3%. There was relatively little difference between the groups aged 14-19 years and aged 20-24 years, with the former at 2.4% and the latter at 2.9%; people aged 25-39 years had an infection rate of 1.1%, according to the CDC (MMWR 2014, Sept. 26;63:834-8).
The prevalence of chlamydia infection for all women aged 14-24 years was higher than the national average, despite being “the population targeted for routine screening” of the disease, the CDC said. The overall rate of chlamydia prevalence in women aged 14-24 years was 4.7%, with non-Hispanic blacks reporting a prevalence of 13.5%, Mexican-Americans of 4.5%, and non-Hispanic whites of 1.8%.
The CDC report used data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.