{"id":168,"date":"2015-06-05T06:08:34","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T06:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caribbeangenetics.com\/dev\/?p=168"},"modified":"2022-02-18T01:14:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T01:14:24","slug":"chlamydia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caribbeangenetics.com\/chlamydia\/","title":{"rendered":"Chlamydia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chlamydia infection\u00a0is a common\u00a0sexually transmitted infection\u00a0in humans caused by the bacterium\u00a0Chlamydia trachomatis<\/em>. This pathogen is found only in humans. Chlamydia is a major infectious cause of human\u00a0genital\u00a0and\u00a0eye disease. This infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide<\/p>\n

Most people who have chlamydia have no symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they may not appear until several weeks after you have sex with an infected partner. Even when chlamydia causes no symptoms, it can damage your reproductive system.<\/p>\n

Women<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chlamydial infection of the neck of the womb (cervicitis) is asymptomatic\u00a0for about 50-70% of women infected with the disease. The infection can be passed through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Of those who have an asymptomatic infection that is not detected by their doctor, approximately half will develop\u00a0pelvic inflammatory disease\u00a0(PID), a generic term for infection of the\u00a0uterus,\u00a0fallopian tubes, and\/or\u00a0ovaries. PID can cause scarring inside the\u00a0reproductive organs, which can later cause serious complications, including chronic\u00a0pelvic\u00a0pain, difficulty becoming\u00a0pregnant,\u00a0ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, and other dangerous complications of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Chlamydia is known as the “Silent Epidemic” because in women, it may not cause any\u00a0symptoms\u00a0in 70\u201380% of cases,\u00a0and can linger for months or years before being discovered. Signs and symptoms may include abnormal\u00a0vaginal bleeding\u00a0or discharge, abdominal pain,\u00a0painful sexual intercourse,\u00a0fever,\u00a0painful urination\u00a0or the urge to urinate more often than usual (urinary urgency).<\/p>\n

Men<\/strong><\/p>\n

In men, those with a chlamydial infection shows symptoms of infectious\u00a0inflammation of the urethra\u00a0in about 50% of cases. If left untreated, chlamydia in men can spread to the testicles causing\u00a0epididymitis, which in rare cases can lead to\u00a0sterility\u00a0if not treated within 6 to 8 weeks. Chlamydia is also a potential cause of\u00a0prostatic inflammation in men, although the exact relevance in prostatitis is difficult to ascertain due to possible contamination from urethritis.<\/p>\n

Eye disease<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chlamydia conjunctivitis or trachoma was once the most important cause of blindness worldwide, but its role diminished from 15% of blindness cases by trachoma in 1995 to 3.6% in 2002. The infection can be spread from eye to eye by fingers, shared towels or cloths, coughing and sneezing and eye-seeking flies. Newborns can also develop chlamydia eye infection through\u00a0childbirth.<\/p>\n

Symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women with symptoms may notice<\/p>\n