STDs: Chlamydia

By James Anthony

Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium 'chlamydia trachomatis'

Anyone with a TV set will have noticed a strange increase in the number of STD awareness ads currently being pushed onto our screens by the Australian goverment.

That could have something to do with the truly horrible figures which have been circulating from health authorities in the last decade that show a silent epidemic hitting young people across Australia.

It is the sexually transmitted disease called Chlamydia, which has seen a massive jump in the number of people - mainly young - catching the infection.

Chlamydia affects people in many ways but the two major areas of concern are its "silent" spread and the fact it can render people sterile.

Many victims of the disease don't know they have it or don't recognise the signs and so they can pass it on without knowing they have done so.

It is spread by unprotected sexual encounters - whether vaginal, oral or anal - and its symptoms can include pus discharges from your penis or vagina. Pain while urinating is also a common signal. The symptoms may be mild so if you are in doubt go to your doctor and get a simple urine test or swab.

If the infection is left unchecked it can spread within your body to, in women, the cervix, fallopian tubes and urine canals and in guys it can inflame male reproductive areas near the testicles (epidydimitis). Females are at great risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and epidydimitis is just as serious. Worst of all, pregnant mothers can pass it on to their babies.

In Victoria the health department says 7634 new cases of Chlamydia were detected last year with more than three-quarters of those being in people between 15 and 29. This is a jump of 150% over 2002 figures. Even more worrying is that is about to jump again within the next year!

And keep in mind that figures suggest only one in five cases actually get reported so that means there could be more than 30,000 carriers in the state alone. In the United States there are more than 1.3 million cases of Chlamydia.

Some health experts want annual urine tests carried out on all sexually active young people and say this is one of the best ways to cut the incidence of the disease.

Treatment for Chlamydia is simple with a range of antibiotics available to kill off the bacteria. Usually these would be taken in a course of pills in which the whole treatment needs to be taken. Sometimes the symptoms can appear to have eased and people decide to stop before their entire course is completed, which is a bad idea as it bacteria can still be lurking in tiny quantities ready to multiply once the antibiotics are no long circulating.

And sometimes the antibiotic may not even work so you need to revisit your doctor after a week or so and get a new form of treatment.

One thing you must do if diagnosed is tell your partner. It may be embarrassing, but they may have passed it on to you in the first place. Be brave and let them know so they can be checked and treated. If you don't then you run the risk of re-infecting each other.

If you have multiple partners there is an even more urgent need to speak up. And it can't be stressed strongly enough that it is so important to use condoms while having sex. They are the best way to try to avoid getting diseases such as chlamydia and can almost entirely remove the risk of unwanted pregnancies.

Links:

Victorian Government Health: Chlamydia facts
Centre for Disease Control: Chlamydia (USA)