Chlamydia Trachomatis : The Common Sexually Transmitted Disease

Chlamydia is a sexual transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, which is passed during sexual contact. Chlamydia is the most reported STD in the United States. Chlamydia affects males and females, but females have higher rates of contracting chlamydia. Rates of reported cases of chlamydia in the united states in 2014 in adolescent’s males age 15-19 were

Chlamydia is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and it is caused by a bacterial infection. Chlamydia trachomatis is the specific bacterium responsible for the condition, affecting approximately 1 million people in the United States and almost a quarter of a million in the United Kingdom.

It can also infect the eyes and rectum. 1 in 10 people have been infected with Chlamydia. It its spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex and can be passed on to unborn babies. There can be absolutely no symptoms however if you do have symptoms they can include vaginal bleeding, discharge, pain passing urine, lower abdominal pains, discharge from the penis and testicle pain. This can be treated with antibiotics however if untreated can lead to infertility!

Chlamydia is a very small microorganism that affects the lining of mucous membranes of the genitals, mouth, anus and rectum. Chlamydia is one of the most common known STD here in the United States, in fact almost 3 million people a year are affected, both men and women. Leaving Chlamydia untreated can cause long term affects and permanent damages. In women it can cause for her to be infertile, and it men can cause his sperm count to be lower and reduce the chances of reproducing. Each year around 100,000 women are infertile from pelvic inflammatory disease. You can attract Chlamydia by having sexual intercourse with someone that has it rather its vaginal, anal or oral sex. There is one way to reduce a sexual transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia, is to have absolutely no sexual intercourse at all.

The common term that is known to us around the world is chlamydia, but most people do not know its scientific name, which is called chlamydia trachomatis. Chlamydia is among the smallest living organisms. It is nonmotile and a gram-negative cocci bacteria. These parasites can bind to intracellular bacteria that only affect humans. So in a nut shell chlamydia cannot survive without us humans, where it takes everything from us but does not give back. In order for it to make copies of itself it needs the help of a human. Without the help of a human it cannot make copies of itself nor survive because it needs ATP and other nutrients that it isn’t capable of making on its own. It was believed that this bacterium was known to be a virus due to the fact it cannot synthesize ATP and grows only inside of a host cell. The cytoplasmic inclusion of chlamydia was mistaken for a protozoan parasite for a long period of time before they figured it out that it was a virus.

Chlamydia is a bacterial infection that is found in semen and vaginal fluids. It can be spread through anal, vaginal, and oral sex to your sex partner. Because Chlamydia is a bacterial infection it can be cured with the use of antibiotics, but the individual will have to be tested first. Chlamydia can show no signs in patients but if it does patients will experience a burning sensation when urinating, lower abdomen pain, discharge from penial and vaginal area, swollen testicles, and pain or bleeding in anal area. It has been reported that 466 Chlamydia cases have been diagnosed per 100,000. Specifically in Huntsville, Texas there has been an increase amount of Chlamydia cases reported at Sam Houston State University. The rise in Chlamydia cases was due to a lot more students at the Sam Houston State

Introduction: Chlamydia Trachomatis is the organism responsible for diseases such as trachoma and the STD Chlamydia. Chlamydia is the most common STD in the United States, with about 4 million new cases diagnosed every year.

Over one million cases of Chlamydia were reported to the CDC in 2013. Despite this large number of reports it actually was a decrease by 1.5% since 2012 (CDC, 2014). Epidemiology statistics showed an increase in reported syphilis, including congenital. Other sexually transmitted diseases can pose higher risks for acquiring HIV. According to new studies, HIV is growing faster in populations that are over 50 versus 40 years and younger (BenRose, 2014). Factors may play a role in this such as higher divorce rates, new medications, and safe sex measures. Therefore, it is important for the healthcare provider screen for sexual activity and any change in sexual partners to provide routine testing when necessary and education on preventive

Chlamydia trachonatis infection is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United states, approximately 1.1 million cases of chlamydia were reported to the Center of Disease prevention and Control, and more than half of the case were females age 15- 25 years old (2009). In 2007, women were almost three times more likely to be infected with chlamydia than men, with females ages 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 reporting the highest rates of infection across age and gender groups (Dembo, Childs, Belenko, Schmeidler, & Wareham, 2009). Chlamydia is a STD that a continuing public health problem among young women. One of the main reason why is because the female anatomy differs from their male counter parts. Chlamydia is more than likely

The reason I chose this topic for research is because of the large number of women in our state who are in potential danger because of this reticence to address sex. According to data provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS), “Females between 15-24 years of age comprised 53 percent of all diagnosed chlamydia cases” (TDSHS, 2014). Along with high numbers of chlamydia, “…gonorrhea…like chlamydia, the majority of cases were among youth 15 to 24 years old” (TDSHS, 2014). The significance of this is felt in the effects that untreated gonorrhea and chlamydia can have on the reproductive system. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “is an infection of a Woman’s Reproductive organs” (CDC PID, 2014). The CDC states that one of the causes of PID is untreated STDs like the aforementioned ones (CDC PID, 2014). The CDC also states that “1 in 8 women with a history of PID experience difficulties getting pregnant” due to the damage PID can cause to the reproductive organs (CDC PID,

Chlamydia is a unique STD due to the fact that it responds to antibiotics like a bacterium but also needs a host like a virus; however, it is classified as bacteria. Chlamydia has two life cycles; it starts out as bacteria not able to synthesis its own adenosine triphosphate (ATP) requiring the bacteria to use a host cell to replicate (Program). The infectious portion of bacterium is called the elementary body which bonds to columnar epithelial cells (Program). The non- infectious agent of Chlamydia is reticular bodies (RB’s) which use the hosts ATP to duplicate and reorganize the elementary bodies. This process causes death of host cell while the new EB’s are released and the two-process life cycle is repeated.

Chlamydia Pneumoniae comes from a distinct Chlamydia species. This type of infection is usually associated with atherosclerotic vascular disease mainly. It is an obligate intracellular bacterium that will infect humans and is the major leading cause of pneumonia. The bacteria, for it to reproduce, must infect other cells which is what makes it an obligate intracellular pathogen. C. Pneumoniae is a gram negative bacterium which will undergo several transitions during its life cycles. This bacterium is an elementary body (EB) meaning that it is resistant to environmental stresses and can survive outside its host for a long amount of time but it’s not a biologically active pathogen. The way this EB works is that, it will travel from the lung of an infected person to the lungs of the uninfected person in small droplets and will then become responsible for the infection. The EB then goes through the process of phagocytosis and becomes the reticulate body (RB); it then can start its replication process within the endosome. It then will convert itself back to EB and infect the cells in the lungs of the host killing the host cell in the process. This infections life cycle is split up between the EB, which can infect new hosts but it’s not able to replicate, and the RB, which is replicable but it is not able to infect other cells to cause the new

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to compromise the health of thousands of Americans daily, predominantly adolescents. According to the World Health Organization (2013), approximately one million Americans acquire an STD every day. Although the percentage of adolescents who have had sexual intercourse has declined since the 1990’s, those who have had sex are less likely to use any form of contraception, thus placing them at greater risk of acquiring an STD (Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2015). Of the many STDs that are prevalent in the United States, chlamydia is one of the most commonly reported STDs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2011). Undiagnosed or untreated chlamydia can cause many health problems including cervicitis, urethritis, and can advance to severe health issues such as pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy (CDC, 2011).

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most widespread and infamous bacterial infection affecting the genital tract. Not only is it quite common in developed countries but an increase in cases has sprung up in developing countries as well. In the United States, there is a 4 million per year case rate of chlamydia which costs the US approximately $2 billion dollars in consequences and treatments. Persons who suffer from chlamydia in underdeveloped countries and have no means of seeking treatment may become blind because chlamydia has the potential of causing trachoma. It is becoming a global interest to control and restrain this budding disease. In order to do so it is essential to recognize the symptoms of chlamydia, diagnose the victim, and

Although chlamydia is a treatable communicable disease simply requiring antibiotics, due to low testing rates and an absence of symptoms in the vast majority of cases, it can be left untreated. This can lead the infection to spread to other parts of the body, causing significant morbidity.