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Chlamydiae are a group of microorganisms classed as bacteria.
They can be transmitted by sexual contact. However this is not the only route of transmission. Infected mothers can infect their children during delivery. This can have serious consequences for the newborn baby.
Symptoms and signs
The infection affects particularly the lower urinary tract, the genital tract and the rectum.
In women acute infection with chlamydia usually produces no symptoms. Sometimes women may experience mild pain or stinging when passing water but do not think that this might be a symptom of disease. Acute inflammation of the urethra is characterized by itching and pain in the urethra and discharge. Chronic chlamydial infections usually go unnoticed in women too.
In men infection with chlamydia is the most common cause of urethral infections. The symptoms are frequent and painful urination. There may be pain and itching of the urethra and purulent discharge from the urethra. But about one quarter of infections in men also go unnoticed.
Chlamydial infections can have serious late complications.
In women ascending infection can lead to acute inflammation of the fallopian tubes and ovaries with fever, pelvic pain and severe malaise. A particularly severe complication is an acute inflammation of the peritoneum covering the liver. This causes severe upper abdominal pain and fever.
Both the acute and chronic forms of the infection can lead to infertility as a result of adhesions in the fallopian tubes. In addition, there is an increased risk of ectopic pregnancies.
If the birth canal is infected with chlamydia the infection can be passed from mother to child. In such cases the newborn infant often suffers from a purulent conjunctivitis which begins one to two weeks after birth. The conjunctivitis is very persistent and usually takes months to clear completely. In some newborn infants the chlamydial infection can also cause pneumonia.
In men chlamydial infection can lead to acute inflammation of the prostate and the epididymides. Swelling of the testes indicates that the infection has spread to the genital organs. These complications are usually very painful and accompanied by fever and chills. Chronic infections of the genital tract can result in infertility.
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