Chlamydia is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection in the United States, yet most people can't even pronounce it.  Each year more than 3 million new cases develop, racking up an annual bill of $2.7 billion!  The good news is that chlamydia infection is preventable, a chlamydia test is available, chlamydia is treatable, and it is often curable.  Yet because this infection has no symptoms in two of every three infected women and half of all men, it is a silent epidemic.

When diagnosed, chlamydia is easily treated and cured. Left untreated, it can lead to significant medical problems for women, the most serious being pelvic inflammatory disease or "PID." Chlamydia causes nearly half of the 1 million cases of PID each year.  Not only is PID painful, but one out of five women with PID become infertile. Another one in five will have chronic pelvic pain. And one in 10 women will have a life-threatening tubal pregnancy, the leading cause of early pregnancy-related death for American women. Chlamydia also can harm a newborn by causing serious eye, ear, and lung infections.

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Created: 5/4/2001  -  Donnica Moore, M.D.