How do people
get Chlamydia?
Chlamydia can be
transmitted during vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Chlamydia can also be passed from
an infected mother to her newborn during vaginal childbirth.
How common is
Chlamydia?
Chlamydia is the most
frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United
States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that
5 percent of the young sexually active people are infected with Chlamydia.
Or one in twenty
high school girls may have Chlamydia. Under-reporting is substantial
because most people with chlamydia are not aware of their infections and do not
seek testing. Chlamydia is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually
active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during
their lives.
What are the
symptoms of chlamydia?
The infection is frequently not diagnosed or
treated until complications develop.
In women, the
bacteria initially attack the cervix (opening to the uterus) and the urethra
(urine canal). The few women with symptoms might have an abnormal vaginal
discharge or a burning sensation when urinating. When the infection spreads from
the cervix to the fallopian tubes, some women still have no signs or symptoms;
others have lower abdominal pain, low back pain, nausea, fever, pain during
intercourse, and bleeding between menstrual periods.
Whenever the infection
spreads past the cervix into the upper reproductive system, permanent and
irreversible damage can occur.
Men with signs
or symptoms might have a discharge from the penis and a burning sensation when
urinating. Men might also have burning and itching around the opening of the
penis or pain and swelling in the testicles, or both.
How soon
after exposure do symptoms appear?
If symptoms do
occur, they usually appear within 1 to 3 weeks of exposure.
How is
chlamydia diagnosed?
There are two
kinds of laboratory tests to diagnose chlamydia. One involves collecting a
specimen from an infected site (cervix or penis) to detect the bacterium
directly. Another test accurately detect chlamydia bacteria in a urine sample. A Pap test is not a test for chlamydia; it
is a test for abnormal cervical cells.
Who is at
risk for chlamydia?
Sexually active
men and women can be exposed to chlamydia bacteria during sexual contact with an
infected person. The more sex partners a person has, the greater the risk of
chlamydia infection. Babies are at risk of acquiring a chlamydia infection from
their infected mother.
Sexually active
teenagers and young women are especially susceptible to chlamydia bacteria
because of the characteristics of the cells that form the lining of the cervical
canal.
What
complications can result from untreated chlamydia?
If untreated,
chlamydia infection can progress to serious reproductive and other health
problems with both short-term and long-term consequences. Like the disease
itself, the damage that chlamydia causes is often "silent."
Untreated
chlamydia in men typically causes urethral infection. Infection sometimes
spreads to the epididymis (a tube that carries sperm from the testis), causing
pain, fever, and, potentially, infertility.
In women, the
chlamydia bacteria often infect the cells of the cervix. If not treated, the
infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes (egg canals) and cause
an infection called pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This happens in up to 40%
of women with untreated chlamydia. PID can cause permanent damage to the
fallopian tubes, uterus, and tissues surrounding the ovaries. This damage can
lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic
pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).
In pregnant
women, there is some evidence that chlamydia infections can lead to premature
delivery. Babies who are born when their mothers are infected can get chlamydia
infections in their eyes and respiratory tracts. Chlamydia is a leading cause of
early infant pneumonia and conjunctivitis (pinkeye) in newborns.
Compared to
women who do not have chlamydia, women infected with chlamydia may also have
higher risk of acquiring HIV infection from an infected partner. Chlamydia can
cause proctitis (an infection of the lining of the rectum) in persons having
receptive anal intercourse. The bacterium also can be
found in the throats of women and men having oral sex with an infected male
partner.
If you are young, sexually
active, and do not use condoms correctly every time you have sex, you should be
screened for chlamydia at least once a year. It
has been shown that screening and treatment of women with chlamydia infection
of the cervix reduces the likelihood of PID. All pregnant women should have a
screening test for chlamydia
If you are
told you are infected, notify all your sex partners immediately.
If you are told
you have chlamydia or any other STD and receive drug treatment, you should
notify all of your recent sex partners so that they can see a health care
provider and be treated. A sex partner needs treatment even if (s)he has no
symptoms. This will reduce the risk that your partners will develop serious
complications from chlamydia and reduce your risk of becoming re-infected. Do
not have sex until both you and your sex partner complete your chlamydia drug
treatment.
