Print
Email
Chlamydia is a bacterial disease that you can spread through sexual contact. The bacterium that causes it is called Chlamydia trachomatis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chlamydia is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States . However, it is still largely underreported. The CDC estimates that there may be more than 3.5 million undiagnosed and unreported cases of chlamydia each year. Most people do not know they are infected with it. There are few symptoms in the early stages.
Who Is at Risk?
Anyone who has sex is at risk for chlamydia. Young adults are at particularly high risk because they are less likely to use condoms during sexual intercourse. According to the CDC, about 1 in 20 women ages 14 to 19 in the United States have a chlamydial infection.
Can Chlamydia Be Prevented?
Reducing the risks you take that increase your chance of chlamydia may help prevent it. Men and women can spread chlamydia by having unprotected vaginal, oral, or anal sex. You can reduce your risk by not having sex. Or if you do, you can lower your risk by limiting the number of sexual partners you have and by using condoms. Avoid sexual contact with an infected person until he or she finishes treatment. If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, all of your sexual partners should be tested and treated for the infection.
Symptoms of Chlamydia
An early sign of chlamydia in women is a mucous-like vaginal discharge. However, this is not an easy symptom to notice because many women have different amounts of discharge from day to day. These are other symptoms that women may have.
-
Pain when urinating
-
Pain in the lower abdomen
-
Bleeding between menstrual periods
-
Painful intercourse
Men may have discharge from the penis or a urethral infection that causes urinary frequency and burning with urination and inflamed testicles.
Complications from Chlamydia
Untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Complications from PID are listed below.
-
Chronic pelvic pain
Ectopic pregnancy is also called tubal pregnancy. It happens when a fertilized egg sticks to the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies must be ended to save the mother’s life. Chlamydia during pregnancy can affect the baby. These are some possible effects.
-
Premature birth
-
Low birth weight
-
Infections such as conjunctivitis (an eye infection) and pneumonia
Women who have chlamydia are also at greater risk for catching HIV if they are exposed to the virus.
Chlamydia Linked to Cervical Cancer
Many studies have linked some types of chlamydia to an increased risk of cervical cancer. However, this is very controversial. Many of the risk factors for cervical cancer and chlamydia are the same.
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women with a type of chlamydia called serotype G were more than 6 times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women who were not infected. That’s why yearly screenings for chlamydia are important. Untreated, chlamydia can cause serious health problems and may raise your risk for cervical cancer.
Diagnosis and Treatment
If you are diagnosed with chlamydia, you can treat and quickly cure the disease. However, 75% of women and 50% of men with chlamydia have mild symptoms or none at all. That is why the disease often remains unfound.
Until recently, it was hard to diagnose chlamydia because the tests were hard to do and the results were unreliable. A woman had to have a pelvic exam that allowed the doctor to take fluids from her cervix. Diagnosing a man involved taking a sample of fluid from his urethra. More sensitive, less invasive, and less costly tests are now available. One test, for instance, looks for chlamydia bacteria in a urine sample.
Doctors use antibiotics to treat chlamydia. The most common treatment is a 7-day course of doxycycline or a single dose of an antibiotic called azithromycin.
More Screening Is Necessary
Widespread screening is an effective way to catch and treat chlamydia. The CDC and the Office of Population Affairs have implemented many screening programs. The CDC now recommends yearly screenings for all sexually active females under the age of 25. It also recommends yearly screenings for women ages 25 and older who have one or more risk factors. Risk factors include having more than one sex partner or not using a condom. Pregnant women should always be screened for chlamydia.
Related Sites
CDC: Facts About Chlamydia - http://www.cdc.gov/std/Chlamydia/STDFact-Chlamydia.htm
CDC: Chlamydia Screening and Treatment Programs for Young Women - http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/chlamy1.htm
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health: Fact Sheet on Chlamydial Infection - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdclam.htm