Sexually Transmitted Diseases

From The Stamford Health Department

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) - Chlamydia

What is chlamydia?

• Genital chlamydial infection is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium, chlamydia trachomatis.
• It is the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States.

Who gets chlamydia?

• Anyone who has sex can get genital chlamydial infection. The people at risk are those having unprotected sexual intercourse (i.e. not using condoms), especially those with more than one sexual partner and those who change sexual partners.
• Eye infection can occur in adults and in infants who are born to infected women.
• Rates are highest in young people, especially men and women under 25 years of age.

How do you catch chlamydia?

• Genital chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection. It is caught through unprotected vaginal, oral or anal sex or genital contact with an infected partner.
• An infected person will frequently have no symptoms of chlamydia, however he or she can still infect a partner without knowing.
• Genital chlamydia can not be caught by casual contact (toilet seats, swimming pools, saunas).
• Pregnant women can pass infection to infants during birth.

How do you know that you have chlamydia?

• At least 50% of infected men and 70% of women do not have any symptoms and consequently a large proportion of cases remain undiagnosed.
• A person may carry the infection, have no symptoms and be able to pass it on to any sexual partner during that time.
• Of those with symptoms of genital chlamydia, women may experience some unusual vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods, pain when passing urine and lower abdominal pain. Men may experience discharge from the penis, burning and itching in the genital area, and pain when passing urine. Symptoms may persist but in some cases, they may only last for a few days then disappear.

How serious is chlamydia?

• If left untreated, chlamydial infections can progress to serious reproductive and other health problems.
• In women, untreated infection can cause chronic pelvic pain and lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy and infertility.
• An infected pregnant woman, who does not receive antibiotic treatment prior to delivery, can also pass the bacteria on to her baby causing it to be born with conjunctivitis (inflammation of the lining of the eye) or pneumonia. However, both are treatable
• In men, complications are rarer but can include epididymitis (pain and swelling around the testicles) and Reiter’s Syndrome (arthritis).

What is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)?

• Pelvic inflammatory disease affects the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes and is caused by micro-organisms migrating from the lower to upper genital tract.
• Chlamydia is a common cause of PID and the risk of PID increases with the number of chlamydia episodes.

What are the complications of PID?

• Up to 1 in 5 women who develop PID will consequently become infertile and the risk of ectopic pregnancy greatly increases. Furthermore, the risk of infertility will increase if a women has more than one episode of PID.
• The consequences of PID are not easily treatable and can have lifelong implications for the individuals concerned.

How can you protect yourself against chlamydia?

• Sexually active men and women can reduce their risk of chlamydia by reducing their numbers of partners, reducing frequency of partner change, and by using condoms correctly and consistently during sexual intercourse.

How is chlamydia diagnosed?

• Many testing for sexual infections is done in STD clinics which have specialist facilities for testing and systems for contacting, testing and treating sexual partners.
• New laboratory tests have been introduced to diagnose genital chlamydial infections using non-invasive samples, such as urine or self-taken vulva-vaginal samples.

How is chlamydia treated?

• Once diagnosed, uncomplicated chlamydial infection is easy to treat and cure with antibiotics.
• Recent sexual partners (within the last six months) of an infected person should be tested and treated to prevent re-infection and further spread of disease. Partners need to be tested whether or not they show symptoms of infection and may be offered treatment whether or not a positive diagnosis is made.

Stamford Health Department offers a STD clinic on Mondays from 2 pm to 5 pm, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:30 am to 11:45 am. It is a confidential clinic and no appointment is necessary. It is located at 141 Franklin St in Stamford. Please call Pauline Pochette at (203) 977-5933 for more information.