A study suggests thousands of women are not being tested and diagnosed for chlamydia following changes to Ontario's cervical cancer screening guidelines.
Researchers say after guidelines changed in 2012, chlamydia testing dropped 26 per cent in females aged 15 to 19, and 18 per cent in women 20 to 24.
They say that means at least 27-thousand fewer cases of the sexually transmitted disease were detected.
The researchers say they hope greater public awareness about the need for young women to be tested for chlamydia and the availability of a simple urine test will lead to more screening.