What is it and how is it passed on?
Chlamydia is one of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and is easily transmitted. It usually infects the genitals of both men and women, but can also infect the throat, rectum and eyes. It's particularly common in young people, but can affect anyone who's sexually active.
Chlamydia is mainly passed from one person to another through sexual activity such as:
- vaginal or anal sex with an infected partner
- oral sex, although this is less common
- sharing sex toys
It can also be passed from a mother to her baby at birth.
You can't catch chlamydia from kissing, hugging, sharing baths, towels, cups, plates, cutlery, or from toilet seats or swimming pools.
Signs and symptoms
Around 70% of women and 50% of men who have chlamydia show no symptoms at all; others may have symptoms so mild they aren't noticed.
Symptoms in women:
- an unusual vaginal discharge
- pain when passing urine
- bleeding between periods
- pain during sex or bleeding after sex
- low abdominal pain
Symptoms in men:
- white/cloudy, watery discharge from the tip of the penis
- pain or a burning sensation when passing urine
- testicular pain and/or swelling
Testing and treatment
The tests for chlamydia aren't usually painful but they may be uncomfortable. Either a urine test is done or a swab is taken from the urethra (the tube where urine comes out), the cervix (entrance to the womb), rectum, throat or eye.
Cervical smear tests and blood tests don't detect infections such as chlamydia.
Chlamydia is simple to treat with antibiotics, either a single dose or a course lasting up to two weeks. To avoid re-infection, any sexual partners should be treated too. If complications occur, another treatment may be needed.
Once chlamydia has been successfully treated, it won't come back unless a new infection is picked up.
What happens if it isn't treated?
Without treatment, the infection can spread to other parts of the body causing damage and serious long-term health problems.
In women, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease. This can lead to:
- ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy outside the womb)
- blocked fallopian tubes (the tubes which carry the egg from the ovaries to the womb), which can result in reduced fertility or infertility
- long-term pelvic pain
- early miscarriage or premature birth
Chlamydia can be safely treated during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but if untreated can cause an eye infection or pneumonia in the baby at birth.
In men, chlamydia can lead to:
- painful inflammation of the testicles, which may result in fertility problems
- Reiter's syndrome (inflammation of the joints, urethra and eyes)
Where to go for help and advice
You can talk to your GP or go to a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. Such clinics diagnose and treat all STIs for free. They're completely confidential and your GP won't be informed without your consent. You can go to any clinic in the country for advice or treatment.
How to avoid STIs
1. Before you have sex, talk to your partner about how to protect yourselves.
2. A male or female condom can provide protection from most STIs if used correctly every time you have sex.
3. Become familiar with how to use condoms and have a supply ready.
4. Seek advice straight away if you think you've been at risk.
Chlamydia News:
Nucleotide and phylogenetic analyses of the Chlamydia trachomatis ompA gene indicates it is a hotspot for mutation - Conclusions:
The high number of synonymous substitutions observed within the variable domains of ompA appears to be due to an increased mutation rate within this region of the genome, whereas the increase in nucleotide substitution rate and the lack of phylogenetic congruence in the regions flanking ompA are characteristic motifs of gene conversion. Together, the increased mutation rate in the ompA gene, in conjunction with gene conversion and positive selection, results in a high degree of variability that promotes host immune evasion. (Source: BioMed Central)
[Articles] Comparison of annual versus twice-yearly mass azithromycin treatment for hyperendemic trachoma in Ethiopia: a cluster-randomised trial - SummaryBackgroundIn trachoma control programmes, azithromycin is distributed to treat the strains of chlamydia that cause ocular disease. We aimed to compare the effect of annual versus twice-yearly distribution of azithromycin on infection with these strains.MethodsWe did a cluster-randomised trial in 24 subdistricts in northern Ethiopia, which we randomly assigned to receive annual or twice-yearly treatment for all residents of all ages. Random assignment was done with the RANDOM and SORT functions of Microsoft Excel. (Source: LANCET)
First-void urine not needed for Chlamydia testing - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While first-void urine specimens have been used traditionally to test for
Chlamydia trachomatis, newer DNA detection methods produce reliable results using midstream specimens, a New
Zealand group reports. (Source: Modern Medicine)
Chlamydia Tops STDs Reported to CDC - (Source: eMedicineHealth.com)
Low prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium in patients examined for Chlamydia trachomatis. - Conclusion. Because of the low prevalence, we recommend selection of patients for examination for M. genitalium. The difference in prevalence between the sexes can reflect different indications for sample taking.
PMID: 22085947 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening)
The effect of financial incentives on the quality of health care provided by primary care physicians. - CONCLUSIONS: The use of financial incentives to reward PCPs for improving the quality of primary healthcare services is growing. However, there is insufficient evidence to support or not support the use of financial incentives to improve the quality of primary health care. Implementation should proceed with caution and incentive schemes should be more carefully designed before implementation. In addition to basing incentive design more on theory, there is a large literature discussing experiences with these schemes that can be used to draw out a number of lessons that can be learned and that could be used to influence or modify the design of incentive schemes. More rigorous study designs need to be used to account for the selection of physicians into incentive schemes. The use of instrumen...
Opportunistic chlamydia screening in a general practice consultation - A 24 year old woman was offered opportunistic chlamydia screening during a routine general practice appointment for another problem. It is practice protocol to offer a test for chlamydia to all... (Source: BMJ Online First)
Teen Girls' Self-Reports of Abstinence Unreliable - Major Finding: Adolescent women who reported being abstinent were just as likely as were those who reported being sexually active to acquire a new chlamydia and/or gonorrhea infection. (Source: Pediatric News)
Chlamydia trachomatis infection in males in a juvenile detention facility in Switzerland. - Authors: Haller DM, Steiner AS, Sebo P, Gaspoz JM, Wolff H
Young offenders represent a group for which Chlamydia trachomatis infection screening is recommended in the US. In the absence of local epidemiological data it is difficult to assess whether such recommendations apply to the Swiss context. Our aim was to obtain local prevalence data for Chlamydia trachomatis infection among young male offenders as a basis for screening strategies in Swiss juvenile detention centres.
PMID: 21769756 [PubMed - in process] (Source: Swiss Medical Weekly)
Take-home chlamydia tests improve screening - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women at risk for chlamydia infections are more likely to get tested if
they can do it at home instead of going to a clinic, suggests new research. (Source: Modern Medicine)
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