Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

Picture of Chlamydia

Chlamydia: A type of bacteria one species of which causes an infection very similar to gonorrhea in the way that it is spread, the symptoms it produces, and the long-term consequences.

Like gonorrhea, chlamydia is found in the cervix and urethra and can also live in the throat or rectum. Like gonorrhea, it is highly destructive to the tubes (the fallopian tubes), the conduits through which the eggs voyage from the ovary to the womb. As a consequence, it causes infertility and tubal pregnancies (pregnancies that implant ectopically in the tubes, a potential disaster). Again like gonorrhea, chlamydia is a prime cause of severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Because women newly infected with chlamydia tend not to have symptoms (to be "silent" or symptom-free), chlamydia often goes undetected and untreated, the disease can progress in a stealthy way to wreck extensive destruction of the fallopian tubes and lead to infertility. Once again like gonorrhea, chlamydia is associated with an increased incidence of preterm births (premies). Women with a history of chlamydia have an increased risk of developing cancer of the cervix.

Related Topics
  Facts About Sexually Transmitted Diseases