Chlamydia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chlamydia - Research Paper Example In addition, it affects both men and women. Additionally, about 30 to 50 percent of the women in the United States have been exposed to the bacterium at one point in their life. Additionally, Chlamydia ascends to the upper genital tract if left untreated in about 40 percent of the cases. As a result, C. trachomatis is known to be one of the major causes of acquired infertility. Generally, due to the high prevalence and adverse complication of untreated infections Chlamydia remains a major public health problem in industrialized countries (Dean, et al., 2009). As aforementioned, Chlamydia is transmitted from one individual to another through oral and sexual contact. Penetrative sexual intercourse is the primary mode of transmission. Chlamydia is transmitted through the vagina, anus, and oral sexual intercourse with an disease-ridden partner (Malhotra, Sood, Mukherjee, Muralidhar, & Bala, 2013). Infected individuals are the reservoirs of the infection. According to Breguet (2006), Mother to Child Transmission (MCT) can occur during vaginal delivery. In addition, conjunctivitis can occur on the occasion that a person touches his or her eyes with infected hands. The infections occur in the urethra, cervix, throat, rectum, eyes, throat, penis, and cervix (Breguet, 2006). According to the CDC (2007), a quarter of the females infected and half of the males do not present with any symptoms. In this regard, it is referred to as the ‘silent’ disease. However, in the population that presents with symptoms, they usually occur within 1 to 3 weeks after infection. Additionally, the symptoms tend to present differently in both men and women. The urethra and the cervix are the major organs affected in women. After an infection, women present with symptoms such as abnormal vaginal discharge and pain when passing urine. An infection of the cervix and fallopian tubes is characterized by symptoms such as pain during copulation, abnormal vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain,