Signs and Symptoms:
Chlamydia trachomatis causes infections that can affect the eyes, lungs, or urogenital (urinary-genital) area, depending on the age of the person infected and how the infection is transmitted.
Chlamydial trachomatis infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States. Females with a chlamydial infection may have vaginal redness and discomfort accompanied by a vaginal discharge. Males may have a discharge from the urethra (the opening where urine comes out) and burning upon urination. Depending on the extent of the infection, there may occasionally be a low-grade fever. People with chlamydial infections often have no symptoms at all. Although an infected person may have no symptoms, he can still spread the infection to other sexual partners.
Chlamydia trachomatis infections may spread to the upper reproductive tract, including the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries and may cause pelvic inflammatory disease. Scarring of the fallopian tubes after chlamydial infection may cause permanent damage to the reproductive system, resulting in infertility. Chlamydial infections also increase the risk that bacteria will cause secondary infections in the pelvic organs, genitals, or rectum. Most females with chlamydial infections will be asymptomatic (they will not have any symptoms). However, an asymptomatic infection can flare up after weeks or months and cause the symptoms described above.
A pregnant woman with chlamydial infection of the genital tract can pass it to her child during birth. In newborns, the infection causes conjunctivitis or pneumonia. Newborns with chlamydial conjunctivitis (an infection that causes inflammation of the inside of the eyelid and surface of the eyeball) usually are alert and have no fever. Their eyes (one or both) are red and swollen and have a thick, yellowish discharge.
Infants with chlamydial pneumonia may have no fever, but their breathing is abnormally rapid. They may cough, vomit, and have a bluish or grayish skin coloring. About half of all newborns with chlamydial pneumonia also have had chlamydial conjunctivitis.
Description:
Chlamydia are bacteria that live and reproduce inside human cells. Although scientists now classify Chlamydia as bacteria, unlike other bacteria, they are difficult to identify with typical laboratory tests; however, like other bacteria, chlamydial infections can be cured by certain antibiotics.
Chlamydia trachomatis infections are probably the most common form of sexually transmitted disease in the United States today, with between 3 and 4 million new infections each year.
In industrialized countries Chlamydia trachomatis infections are more common than gonorrhea, another STD, but many people contract both infections simultaneously. Doctors estimate that among patients with gonorrhea, approximately 25% of men and up to 50% of women also have chlamydial infections. Experts believe that 5% to 25% of all pregnant women in the United States currently have chlamydial infections, and 50% of these mothers who deliver vaginally will infect their infants with Chlamydia at birth. Almost half of the infected children will develop a chlamydial conjunctivitis, and close to 20% will develop chlamydial pneumonia.
Duration:
Newborns with chlamydial conjunctivitis are usually cured after 10 to 14 days of antibiotic treatment, but relapses are common. Without antibiotic treatment, infants with chlamydial conjunctivitis may develop chlamydial pneumonia. Newborns with chlamydial pneumonia usually improve after 5 to 7 days of antibiotic treatment, but treatment continues for 3 weeks.
Genital chlamydial infections can be cured with oral antibiotics. Sexual partners must also be treated with antibiotics. (Note: Penicillin is not effective against chlamydial infection.)
Contagiousness:
Chlamydia trachomatis infections are contagious, and all sexual partners of someone with a genital chlamydial infection need to be notified and treated with antibiotics, even if they don't have evident symptoms.
If a pregnant woman has a genital chlamydial infection, her newborn child is in danger of infection during delivery. Of all children born vaginally to mothers with genital chlamydial infections, almost 50% develop chlamydial conjunctivitis and close to 20% develop pneumonia.
Incubation:
The incubation period for genital chlamydial infections is about 1 week. Since many patients may have either only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, they may be unsure when they were infected.
In newborns, chlamydial conjunctivitis has an incubation period of 5 to 14 days, but may appear as early as 3 days or as late as 5 to 6 weeks after birth. Infants with chlamydial pneumonia are most often brought for a doctor's treatment when they are 3 to 16 weeks old, but most of the later-presenting infants have mild symptoms of respiratory illness for several weeks before they come to medical attention.
