Chlamydia Research Paper

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. The disease is caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. In women the disease usually affects the cervix, throat and rectum, while in men it infects the urethra, rectum or throat. Chlamydia is normally transmitted through sexual contact with an infected person, be it Vaginal, oral or anal. It can also be transmitted to a newborn during birth. https://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.html The disease may remain asymptomatic in women.
Woman may experience the following signs and symptoms.
i) Strong smelling abnormal vaginal discharge ii) Burning sensation during urination iii) Painful sexual intercourse
Men may experience the following
https://medlineplus.gov/chlamydiainfections.html. The disease is very common in sexually active women below 24 years old, or older women who are sexually active. An annual screening is recommended for all sexually active women. Men who have sex with other men are also at risk of getting infected. https://medlineplus.gov/chlamydiainfections.html There are two ways of testing for chlamydia:
i) Testing urine samples and ii) conducting NAT (nucleic acid amplification testing) culture.
The samples can be collected from urine stream or taking a vaginal swab for laboratory test. https://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/stdfact-chlamydia.html. For effective management and treatment, early treatment using antibiotics reduces chances of permanent damage related to the disease. This can be a onetime dose of antibiotics or the patient may be required to take antibiotics for seven days. In case the disease has caused permanent damage, the antibiotics will not have the capacity to repair or fix damaged tissues or
This may also lead to long term pelvic pain. Newborns are also at risk of infection as the disease can be passed from mother to child during birth and ends up causing conjunctivitis and neonatal pneumonia. Once a person is infected with chlamydia his/her chances of getting or giving HIV are increased. Return infection on women can lead to serious reproductive system complications. The disease rarely poses any major health complications in men even though it may lead to inflammation of the epididymis leading to pain, fever and in rare cases infertility. An infected person may develop reactive arthritis. This mainly happens as a reaction of the body due to chlamydia infection. https://medlineplus.gov/chlamydiainfections.html.

Chlamydia is a preventable disease. Safe sex practices can greatly lower chances of infection.
Below are steps that could be taken to reduce chances of infection
i) know your sexual partner and their history. ii) Keep one sexual partner iii) Don’t engage in coerced or forced sexual acts iv) Use condoms on any act of intercourse
v) Use water based lubricants, they reduce chances of condom tear.