Chlamydia
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia Trachomatis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global prevalence of chlamydia was estimated to be 124.3 million in 2016 (or 2.7% in men and 3.8% in women aged 15-49), and the estimated global incidence was 127.2 million new cases (or 33 per 1000 men and 34 per 1000 women). Approximately 10-40% of people infected with chlamydia are also co-infected with gonorrhea.1
About 50% of men and 70% of women infected with chlamydia show no obvious symptoms, therefore, a large proportion of positive cases remain undetected and untreated, resulting in serious complications such as infection of the testicles and prostate in men, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID, which can cause permanent damage to the uterus and fallopian tubes), ectopic pregnancy and infertility in women REF 2. Research shows that people with chlamydial infection are at increased the risk of contracting HIV (REF 3).2-3
REF:
1. World Health Organization. Report on global sexually transmitted infection surveillance 2018.
2. Chlamydia Trachomatis Infections: Screening, Diagnosis, and Management, Am Fam Physician. 2012 Dec 15;86(12):1127-1132.
3. Fleming DT, Wasserheit JN. From epidemiological synergy to public health policy and practice: the contribution of other sexually transmitted diseases to sexual transmission of HIV infection. Sexually transmitted infections 1999;75:3-17.
