| CHLAMYDIA |
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About the Disease
Chlamydia, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is one of the most widespread bacterial diseases in the United States. You can get it through oral, vaginal or anal sexual contact with an infected partner.
Since approximately 75% of women and 50% of men have no symptoms, most people infected with chlamydia are not aware they have it.
In 2001, 11,794 cases of chlamydial infection were reported in Mississippi: a rate of 412 per 100,000. 87% of these cases were among females. | | |
| AT A GLANCE |
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What it is: Chlamydia is a curable sexually transmitted disease (STD), caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. |
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Transmission: Chlamydia is transmitted through oral, vaginal or anal sex. It may also be passed from an infected mother to her child during childbirth. |
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Symptoms: Many women and men who have chlamydia do not have symptoms. Those who do have symptoms will usually have an abnormal discharge from the vagina or penis, or pain while urinating. Symptoms usually appear within one to three weeks after being infected. Chlamydia may also cause an inflamed rectum and inflammation of the lining of the eye (also known as "pink eye"). The bacteria can also infect the throat of a person who has given oral sex to his or her partner. If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pain or swelling in the scrotal area in males. In females, untreated chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which is a serious infection of the reproductive organs that may lead to scarring of the fallopian tubes and infertility. |
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Prevention: Use latex condoms, especially if you have more than one sexual partner.
If you know that you have chlamydia, avoid sexual contact until you have completely finished taking the antibiotics your doctor prescribed. |
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Testing: See your doctor or local health department for testing. Usually, your doctor will send a sample of pus from the vagina or penis for a lab test. A urine test may also be administered. |
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Treatment: Chlamydia is treated with antibiotics. It often occurs with gonorrhea. It is very important to take all of the prescribed medicine, even if the symptoms disappear. | |
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| FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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Find out more
For more information about chlamydia or any other sexually transmitted disease, call:
- The National STD and AIDS Hotlines, 1-800-227-8922 or 1-800-342-2437. (24 hours, 7 days)
- Spanish: 1-800-344-7432 from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Central time
- Hearing-impaired: 1-800-243-7889 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Central time
You can also contact your local health office, or call our Health Info Hotline at 1-866-HLTHY4U (1-866-458-4948).
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