Can a test for chlamydia be wrong?

In some cases, a person may also have a false-negative test result. This can happen if they test too soon after exposure. For example, if a person tests the day after sex with a partner who has chlamydia, the bacteria may not have had the chance to grow to detectable levels.

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Can something else be mistaken for chlamydia?

Understanding Trichomoniasis. Chlamydia and trichomoniasis are similar infections and they are commonly confused, but it's important to know the difference, as the two infections are not treated with the same antibiotic. Trichomoniasis (trich) is caused by a parasite called Trichomonas Vaginalis.

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How accurate are chlamydia tests?

Some chlamydia and gonorrhea tests have a sensitivity rate of 99.8% and a specificity of 99.3%. It all depends on the type of test and the specific infection or disease that's being tested for.

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How common is a false positive chlamydia test?

Using a test with 97.2% sensitivity and 98.5% specificity,3 the positive and negative predictive values are 49.7% and 99.9%, respectively. That means the chance that a positive result is a false positive is greater than 50%.

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How often are chlamydia tests wrong?

For chlamydia testing in females, false-positive rates (1 – specificity) ranged from 0% to 2% across anatomical sites in 6 studies,23,29,30,34,35,37 including 0% to 0.7% for endocervical, 0% to 1.2% for vaginal, 0.2% to 1.7% for urethral, and 0% to 2% for urine testing.

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Why A Positive STD Test May Be False - Sexually transmitted disease, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia

18 related questions found

Can a bacterial infection be mistaken for chlamydia?

Often, BV can be mistaken for other conditions, such as yeast infections or sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia. Often, BV (or STDs) do not have any symptoms at all, so it's imperative always to make a yearly gynecological appointment.

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Can a urine test miss chlamydia?

Detecting chlamydia or gonorrhea proved almost 4 times more likely when testing extragenital sites than when testing only urine (incidence rate ratio 3.67, 95% confidence interval 1.26 to 10.7). Testing only urine samples would have missed all gonorrhea infections and 75% of chlamydia infections.

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Can you pass chlamydia if you test negative?

Certain STIs will show up on a test within a couple of weeks of infection, while others will take much longer. This means if you test too early for certain STIs, the infection might not show up. In other words, it's possible to have an STI even if you tested negative the first time.

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Can I test negative for STD and still have it?

It's possible to receive a false negative, which means you have the STD but the negative std test results say you don't. There are a range of factors that could lead to false results, including the window period during which the body must produce enough antibodies to get an accurate test result.

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Can chlamydia lie dormant and test negative?

This is because the bacteria needs enough time to multiply within your body in order for it to reach a detectable level when taking a chlamydia test. For chlamydia this is often 14 days. If you test before that 14 days is over, you may test negative, but you could still pass the bacteria on following your test.

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How long does it take for chlamydia to show up positive on a test?

Chlamydia. A doctor can test for chlamydia by swabbing the vagina, cervix, rectum, or throat, or by taking a urine sample. If symptoms appear, they usually present within 7–21 days of exposure. A test can normally detect chlamydia within 1–2 weeks of exposure.

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Can my partner give me chlamydia but he tested negative?

Your sexual partner would need to have an STI for them to be able to pass one to you. What could happen is they have a negative test but end up having an STI (we call this a false negative test). It's also possible they could have an STI that was not tested for.

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How did I get chlamydia and my partner didn t?

As most people do not have symptoms, it is possible the person (who tested positive) could have had chlamydia/gonorrhea from a previous relationship, and has not passed it to their partner yet. It is never 100% that you will pass an STI when you have sex.

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How long can chlamydia go undetected?

Most people who have chlamydia don't notice any symptoms.

If you do get symptoms, these usually appear between 1 and 3 weeks after having unprotected sex with an infected person.

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How often are STD tests incorrect?

“These are incredibly accurate compared to our old diagnostic techniques.” Data from the CDC suggest that for both STIs, a false positive is incredibly rare (99 percent of the time tests that come back negative are accurate). And if you do have the STI, it'll pick it up more than 90 percent of the time.

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How accurate is a urine test for chlamydia and gonorrhea?

FDA-Cleared Urine Test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea

Our chlamydia and gonorrhea test panel has a sensitivity rate of 99.8% and a specificity of 99.3%.

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What is the most accurate test for chlamydia?

A cervical swab provides the most sensitive and specific test result for Chlamydia, and has the added advantage of the physician being able to assess the patient's general genital health.

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Can a UTI be mistaken for chlamydia?

The main symptom that chlamydia does not share with UTIs is penile or vaginal discharge. A chlamydial infection can cause a yellowish, strong-smelling vaginal discharge or a watery, milky penile discharge. Urinary tract infections are not known to cause any sort of abnormal genital discharge.

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How do you confirm chlamydia?

Tests include:
  1. A urine test. A sample of your urine is analyzed in the laboratory for presence of this infection.
  2. A swab. For women, your doctor takes a swab of the discharge from your cervix for culture or antigen testing for chlamydia. This can be done during a routine Pap test.

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Why am I positive for chlamydia but my partner isn t?

If one partner tests positive for chlamydia and the other does not, there are a few possible explanations: The positive test result could be incorrect. The negative test result could be incorrect. The chlamydia might not have transmitted from the person to their partner.

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Can chlamydia form without cheating?

Can you develop a chlamydia infection on your own? Fortunately, you can't contract chlamydia on your own because it spreads through sexual contact with other people. Chlamydia bacteria does, however, thrive in vaginal fluid, semen, and pre-ejaculate (the fluids that the penis may release before sexual climax).

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Can chlamydia come without cheating?

How did I get chlamydia if I didn't cheat? You can get chlamydia if your partner had vaginal, oral or anal sex with someone who was infected and then had sex with you.

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Will I definitely get chlamydia if my partner has it?

You can get chlamydia by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has chlamydia. Also, you can still get chlamydia even if your sex partner does not ejaculate (cum). A pregnant person with chlamydia can give the infection to their baby during childbirth.

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Can one partner test positive for STD and the other negative?

You should know that you can still test positive and negative as a couple when cheating didn't take place. Historically, this has been known as a discordant STI result, and it refers to a situation where a sexually active couple receives different negative and positive diagnoses after taking an STI test.

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Can one partner test positive for chlamydia and the other negative?

A: It is quite common for one partner to test positive and the other negative, even if they have been having sex without condoms.

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