What is the magnitude of the problem?
Chlamydia is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States. Though 526,653 cases were reported in 1997, an estimated 3 million cases occur annually. Severe under reporting is largely a result of substantial numbers of asymptomatic persons whose infections are not identified because screening is not available. Highlights of reported data are as follows: • From 1984 through 1997, reported rates(1) of chlamydia increased from 3.2 to 207.0 cases per 100,000 population. This trend primarily reflects increased screening, recognition of asymptomatic infection (mainly in women), and improved reporting capacity rather than a true increase in disease incidence. • In 1997, the reported rate of chlamydia for women (335.8) substantially exceeded the rate for men (70.4), due mainly to increased detection of asymptomatic infection in women through screening. Low rates of reported chlamydia among men suggest that many of the partners of women with chlamydia are not screened or t
Several factors make it extremely difficult to provide reliable figures: • The clandestine nature of trafficking; • Ongoing disagreement regarding the legal classification (based on national laws, many of which are not in line with the Palermo Protocol) and subsequently, identification of trafficked victims; and • Lack of coordinated reporting No UN agency, government, or NGO has so far managed to provide any accurate or universally acceptable estimate of the number of trafficked persons in a country, in the region, or the world. Estimates of the number of victims trafficked worldwide on an annual basis range from 700,000 to two million (and in one occasion even four million), but with little clear basis in any case. Extrapolations of local surveys in the Mekong sub-region estimate a range of a few thousands a year to 200,000 – again supported by limited concrete data.
