I Was Tested For Chlamydia In The Past And I
Reinfection is likely- details below
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to "Ask a Doctor" service,
I carefully read your query and understand your concern.
Chlamydia infection is a sexually transmitted disease, which means if one has it, both partners may have it. This is why both partners should be treated at the same time and intercourse should be avoided during treatment.
If you and your partner did not get treated at the same time and if you were sexually active during the treatment (with no condom use), there is a risk of reinfection and the test may come out positive again.
In your case, it would be very helpful to know which test was done as each test has its rate of accuracy. If you had a NAAT test (nucleic acid amplified test), this is quite accurate (over 95%). If you had a culture of cervical secretions, the accuracy of this test is not so high and it may in some cases come out negative even when the patient has chlamydia infection.
As a rule of thumb, a positive chlamydia test is considered positive (meaning the patient very likely has the infection) but a negative test does not rule out chlamydia (there is still chance the patient has the infection even when the test comes out negative).
Thus, if you had a positive test recently you need treatment as soon as possible and your partner as well. You will need to both be treated at the same time and avoid intercourse during treatment to increase the chance of infection being treated and reduce the chance of reinfection.
I hope this answers your query and is helpful to you. I remain at your disposal in case further medical assistance is needed.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
General and Family Physician