Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of preventable infertility in women in the United States. Few women have any symptoms when infected by Chlamydia trachomatis. Nearly 80 percent of women with Chlamydia trachomatis infections are asymptomatic. Unfortunately, even if a person does not realize they are infected damage oftentimes occurs with this bacterial infection. Infections by Chlamydia trachomatis can result in damage to the patient's fallopian tubes (salpingitis), liver (perihepatitis), cervix (cervicitis), and uterus (endometritis actually the lining of the uterus is inflamed in this disease).
In severe cases a woman can develop a very serious condition called Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID). If enough damage occurs to the fallopian tubes the egg is not able to pass down to the uterus and no fertilization of the egg can take place or if fertilization occurs it takes place outside the uterus resulting in a very dangerous situation called ectopic pregnancy.
Since most Chlamydia trachomatis infections do not result in any symptoms it is recommended that sexually active females have a yearly test for this organism. A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicates that not only are adults getting infected with this bacteria. Their study demonstrated that a very high percentage (29.1 percent) of sexually active teenagers (12 to 19 year olds) tested positive for infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. Many of these young women did not even know they were infected. The age with the highest number of Chlamydia trachomatis infections were the 14 year olds (27.6 percent positive for Chlamydia trachomatis).
The part of the study that concerned me most was that no particular subset of the group of teenage females studied were more likely to get Chlamydia trachomatis infections. Patients that had recently changed their sex partner, symptoms, had a prior sexually transmitted disease, multiple or new partners, or inconsistent condom use were NOT more likely to be infected with Chlamydia trachomatis. That means any sexually active teenager is equally likely to be infected with Chlamydia trachomatis regardless of how "safe" their sexual practices.
The authors also conclude that sexually active teenagers get tested for Chlamydia trachomatis at least every 6 months rather than once a year. If they test positive they should be treated to eliminate the infection and hopefully prevent damage to their bodies and infertility.
For more information on this study:
Go to the JAMA
article.
A CNN
article.
A Centers
for Disease Control article on Chlamydia infections.
Take Care and Think Microbiologically!
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