Chlamydia
What is Chlamydia?
Chlamydia is an infection caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis; most commonly it affects the urinary and/or genital region. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), chlamydia infections are the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the United States (Center for Disease Control, 1997c). Although chlamydia is spread primarily through sexual contact, it can also be spread from the genitals to the eyes by finger contact.
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What are the signs and symptoms of chlamydia?
For females, a chlamydia infection can manifest itself in two general ways. The first type of infection causes either an inflammation of the urethra or irritation of the cervix. This type of infection may cause mild irritation of genital tissue, a burning sensation during urination, and/or slight vaginal discharge.
If left untreated, the secondary infection in females is a stronger infection that can lead to severe health problems including ectopic pregnancies and sterility. This invasive infection is called pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID for short. PID results when a bacterial infection spreads from the cervix into the uterus and other reproductive structures.
PID caused by chlamydia can be detected by the following symptoms: disruption of menstrual periods, chronic pelvic pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. Unfortunately, these symptoms are common enough to indicate many possible illnesses or infections, making it difficult to prove that chlamydia was the cause of the problem. Even more troubling, approximately 75% of females are asymptomatic, meaning that they have no signs of a chlamydia infection—no discharge, no irritation, nothing. For an infected individual then, only testing for STDss will allow the infection to be detected.
Males have quite different problems than females when infected with chlamydia. An infection usually manifests itself as nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) or as epididymitis in the areas of the testicles and scrotum. Nongonococcal urethritis is an infection of the urethra and is characterized by discharge from the penis and burning sensations when urinating. Epididymitis causes a heavy sensation in the testicle(s), scrotal inflammation, and/or a small area of hard swelling at the bottom of the testicle. As with females, a large percentage of males are asymptomatic; approximately 50% of males who are infected with chlamydia have no symptoms.
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How can chlamydia be treated?
Chlamydia can be treated at any stage of infection through the administration of Ofloxacin, Doxycycline, or Azithromycin. Ofloxacin or Doxycycline are also useful in treating gonorrhea and are usually prescribed in seven-day regimens. Pregnant women should not take Ofloxin and Doxycycline; instead, Azithromycin or Erythromycin should be administered.
Once an infection is detected, it is important that sexual partners are tested as well, even if they do not have any symptoms. If only one partner is treated, the chance for reinfection is high, since a large percentage of the population is asymptomatic.
If a pregnant woman has chlamydia, she has the potential to transmit the disease to her baby at the time of delivery. If chlamydia gets into the infant's eyes, the baby can develop conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the mucous lining of the eyes. Chlamydia conjunctivitis is the most common type of curable blindness if the baby is treated with an application of erthromycin or tetracycline immediately after birth. Conjunctivitis is especially prevalent in Asia and Africa, where screening procedures may not be available or seen as unnecessary (again, chlamydia is asymptomatic in up 75% of women).