Chlamydia

Chlamydia Overview

Chlamydia is a disease transmitted when people have sexual relations. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States. Among adults, the occurrence rate is 5%. For sexually active adolescent females, the occurrence rate is 10%.

Infection with chlamydia is commonly found among the following groups:

• Young adults

• People living in urban areas

• African Americans

• Those with lower social and economic status

Chlamydia Causes

Chlamydia is an infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The infection is transmitted in 2 ways:

• From one person to another by close personal contact such as through sexual intercourse (not by casual contact such as a handshake).
• From mother to child with passage of the child through the birth canal. Chlamydia can cause pneumonia or serious eye infections in a newborn, especially among children born to infected mothers in developing countries.
  

Chlamydia Symptoms

• Women
  
  
  • No symptoms 80% of the time (One study found that 3% of a sample of young adults 18-35 years had untreated chlamydia.)
    
    
  • Bleeding after sexual relations or between menstrual periods
    
    
  • Lower abdominal pain and burning pain during urination
    
    
  • Discharge from the vagina
• • No symptoms 80% of the time (One study found that 3% of a sample of young adults 18-35 years had untreated chlamydia.)
    
    
  • Bleeding after sexual relations or between menstrual periods
    
    
  • Lower abdominal pain and burning pain during urination
    
    
  • Discharge from the vagina
  
  
• Men
  
  
  • No symptoms 50% of the time
    
    
  • Discharge from the penis
    
    
  • Pain, burning during urination
    
    
  • Inflammation or infection of a duct in the testicles

When to Seek Medical Care

When to call the doctor

• Fever

• Abdominal pain

• Discharge from the penis or vagina

• Pain with urination

• Frequent trips to the bathroom to urinate

• Sexual contact with an infected person: Most often, a sexual partner is informed about a chlamydial infection, and this is the first indication of the presence of the disease. All partners of an infected person should be treated to prevent the spread of the infection back and forth.

When to go to the hospital

Chlamydial infections can develop into serious medical conditions if not treated.

• Women: Pelvic inflammatory disease is a serious medical condition, which can lead to sterility. Fever, abdominal pain, and vaginal discharge can be symptoms of this disease. Women with these symptoms need to go to a hospital's emergency department immediately for treatment.

• Men: Fever, discharge from the penis, and painful urination may signal an infection, which may involve inflammation of the testicles. Men with these symptoms need to go to a hospital's emergency department immediately for treatment.

Exams and Tests

The doctor will conduct a physical examination. Tenderness for women in the area of the sex organs, pus from the vagina or penis along with a high white-blood-cell count, and fever could indicate an infection.

The doctor will order diagnostic tests that may include looking at samples of the discharge under a microscope or obtaining cultures to identify the disease-causing bacteria.