Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United States, but most people don’t realize they have it. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). If you’re sexually active, you may have had chlamydia at some point in your life. These 10 facts show that while it’s a common bacterial infection, chlamydia can have serious consequences.
1. Chlamydia is common, but many people don’t realize they have it. About 1.4 million chlamydia infections were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2014, but the real number is likely higher because chlamydia is considered an underreported infection.
“The number of reported cases is substantially lower than the true estimated incidence,” says Bradley Stoner MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and former president of the American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association.
“Most recent data suggest there are more than 2.8 million cases in the United States annually,” says Dr. Stoner. “And unfortunately, chlamydia rates are up this year.”
2. Chlamydia is caused by sexually transmitted bacteria. The bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis causes chlamydia infection, which usually occurs in the genital tract: the cervix in women and the penis in men. In both women and men, the bacteria may also infect the rectum and the throat.
“Infections are spread during any kind of sexual activity — vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse,” says Jonathan Schaffir, MD, an ob/gyn at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Sexual activity between same-sex partners can also result in a chlamydia infection, sometimes of the rectum or throat in both men and women.
3. Young sexually active women are most susceptible. Women between ages 15 and 24 are most likely to be newly infected with chlamydia, according to the CDC, but anyone who is sexually active — male or female — can be infected. Men who have oral or anal sex with men are also at risk, notes the CDC.
4. Chlamydia is only contagious from person to person. You can only get chlamydia by having sexual intercourse with an infected person, not from casual contact, clothing, or contaminated food or water.
“The chlamydia organism lives only in human cells and cannot be transmitted by external contact, such as towels or toilet seats,” Dr. Schaffir says.
5. Symptoms can differ for men and women. “By and large, most cases of chlamydia are asymptomatic — they are picked up by screening, which is why it’s so important to have good screening programs in place,” notes Stoner. Men or women who have chlamydia symptoms may experience painful urination.
Women may also have these symptoms:
- Abdominal pain
- Smelly discharge from the cervix
- Pain during sex
- Bleeding after sex
- Bleeding between periods
And men may have these symptoms:
- Discharge from the penis
- Painful testicles
6. Chlamydia infection may have long-term health consequences. For women, long-term effects of an untreated chlamydia infection may include:
- Severe infection with pain and fever requiring a hospital stay
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, an infection of the upper reproductive tract
- Scarring in the reproductive tract that causes infertility
Men are less likely than women to have major health problems linked to chlamydia. But infection can sometimes result in arthritis in both men and women, along with painful urination and conjunctivitis (pink eye).
7. A woman can pass chlamydia on to her newborn during childbirth. In addition to the unpleasant and painful symptoms of infection, chlamydia can cause serious problems for newborns. When a baby is exposed to the mother’s untreated infection during childbirth, the infant can contract eye infections and pneumonia, notes the March of Dimes.
8. Antibiotics are a highly effective cure for chlamydia infection. These include:
- Zithromax (Azithromycin)
- Doryx (Doxycycline)
A single oral dose of Zithromax is the most common treatment. Other drugs may be given in varying doses for a period of up to a week. Most cases of chlamydia clear up within a week after you start on antibiotics.
9. You can get chlamydia more than once. With some diseases, having one infection makes you immune to future infections. That’s not the case with chlamydia, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If you’re in a sexual relationship with an infected person, you could get chlamydia again even if you’ve just completed treatment.
- “Both partners should be treated before reinitiating sexual intercourse to prevent relapse,” Schaffir says.
10. Chlamydia can be prevented. The most effective way to prevent infection is through proper screening at your routine doctor’s visit. Always use latex condoms when having intercourse of any kind, including oral, to reduce your risk of infection. Abstaining from sexual contact is another way to prevent the spread of chlamydia.
- Screening for chlamydia is painless: It usually simply involves testing a urine sample, or if you are a woman, a specimen swabbed from your vagina.
You should be screened annually for chlamydia if you are:
- A sexually active woman under age 25
- A woman over 25 who has multiple sexual partners
- A woman whose sexual partner may have multiple sexual partners
- Are pregnant (pregnant women should be screened as early as possible in the pregnancy, with a screening again in the third trimester)
- At increased risk for other health reasons
“I would emphasize that young women should be screened if they engage in any sexual behavior that puts them at risk, because [chlamydia] often has no symptoms, and early treatment is important to avoid long-term damage and infertility,” Schaffir says.
“If you think you have been exposed to chlamydia,” Stoner says, “see your healthcare provider to receive antibiotic medication to prevent the onset of infection.”
Article by Mark Henricks of Everyday Health