EU health agency calls for "widespread" chlamydia testing

European countries must deepen their work to prevent chlamydia from spreading among their citizens, the director of a European Union (EU) health agency urged on Monday.

More than 3.2 million cases of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) were reported between 2005 and 2014, according to figures compiled by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC).

"Chlamydia is straightforward to diagnose and can be effectively treated with antibiotics -- but it may also irreversibly damage a woman's reproductive organs. There is no available vaccine and after treatment you can get re-infected if you do not take precautions," said Andrea Ammon, the ECDC's acting director.

Rates of chlamydia infection rose by 5 percent between 2010 and 2014, the agency said, while cases involving women are more common than those involving men. Because the disease is symptomless, it is often underreported, according to the agency.

The ECDC director stressed that European countries need to devote "sufficient resources" to monitor and evaluate prevention and detection programs.

"Good primary prevention, like health and sex education or condom promotion and distribution, is at the core of STI control. Widespread opportunistic testing or a screening program should be considered once effective primary prevention activities," Ammon said.

The ECDC, headquartered in Stockholm since 2005, works with health authorities across Europe to fight infectious diseases. Endit