Background:
Chlamydia is the most common reportable infectious disease and the majority of infections are asymptomatic and go undetected. Chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal infertility in women. A multifaceted public health intervention to control chlamydia in California was initiated in 2000.

Objective:
To profile a comprehensive chlamydia prevention and control program and monitor its effectiveness.

Method:
The California STD Control Branch and other public health leaders garnered political support and convened key stakeholders through the California Chlamydia Action Coalition (CCAC), a public-private partnership led by the California Department of Health Services, the California HealthCare Foundation, and the University of California, San Francisco. The CCAC mobilized stakeholders from both the public and private sectors and embarked on a number of initiatives in the areas of screening, partner services, awareness, policy and surveillance.

Result:
In the last 5 years, successes were achieved in - screening and clinical services, partner services, awareness, and surveillance. Overall rates of chlamydia infections in young women increased in managed care plans and in public entitlement programs as a result of increased screening and the use of highly sensitive nucleic acid amplification tests. Legislative change created options for patient-delivered partner therapy. A chlamydia data warehouse was developed to provide data to managed care organizations for reporting screening rates and to public health agencies for disease reporting purposes. A Chlamydia Toolbox supported by training and technical assistance was developed to assist organizations with raising provider awareness to improve practice.

Conclusion:
A public and private partnership utilizing comprehensive approaches greatly enhanced California's chlamydia control program. Despite significant progress in identifying and treating infected women, further work is needed before declines in rates of this prevalent infection can be achieved.

Implications:
The CCAC can serve as a model for other STD programs on building partnerships and developing tools to support a comprehensive program.