In "The Estimated Direct Medical Cost of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among American Youth, 2000," by Harrell W. Chesson et al. [2004, 36(1):11–19], errors occurred in the calculation of the costs of chlamydia and gonorrhea and in the description of these calculations.

The corrected cost-per-case estimates, in year 2000 dollars, are as follows: $27 for male chlamydia, $244 for female chlamydia, $32 for male gonorrhea and $197 for female gonorrhea. The cost of chlamydia in females includes $21 for costs related to neonatal conjunctivitis and neonatal pneumonia. The assumed probabilities of receiving treatment were 0.304 and 0.310 for male and female chlamydia, respectively, and 0.405 and 0.589 for male and female gonorrhea, respectively. The average cost per acute case of gonorrhea treated was $68.

In 2000 dollars, the corrected burden of chlamydia is $251.9 million, and the corrected burden of gonorrhea is $55.8 million. These corrections do not affect the estimated overall burden of STDs among youth, which remains $6.5 billion in 2000 dollars.

The authors thank Helen Azzam for calling this matter to our attention.

Harrell W. Chesson Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta