What is a Chlamydial Infection?
by A brief overview of the most common bacterial STI in humans.
The term Chlamydia infection can also refer to infection caused by any species belonging to the bacterial family Chlamydiaceae. C. trachomatis is only found in humans. Chlamydia is a major infectious cause of human genital and eye disease. Chlamydia infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide — it is estimated that about 2.3 million individuals in the United States are infected with chlamydia. It is the most common bacterial STI in humans. (source: Wikipidia)
This kind of infection produces non-gonococcal urethritis which include difficulty or painful urination, and a clear, odorless, sticky discharge coming from the male or female genitals. The causative agent of this infection is known as chlamydia trachomatis which is an intracellular obligate organism, this means that this organism can only live inside the cells. The mode of transmission is commonly through sexual contact (since this is a sexually transmitted infection). The incubation period usually takes place 2-3 weeks upon infection. If the infection is left untreated for a long period of time, this would possibly lead to serious complications. Such complications would include cervicitis in women, abortion during pregnancy, and trachoma or blindness. Chlamidial infection could be detected through a diagnostic test which would require isolation of the organism in a tissue culture. The infection could be treated easily upon accurate diagnosis through the use of antibiotics such as Tetracycline and Acithromycin.
Like any other sexually transmitted infections (STI), the most effective prevention is to abstain from sex or to delay first sex. It is also a must to be faithful to one partner. And lastly, always practise safe sex by using male or female condoms consistently and correctly. these prevention methods might be difficult for most of us, but it’s way better than getting an STI.
Liked it
