health

C. trachomatis can be transmitted between sexual partners during oral,
anal, or vaginal intercourse. It can also be transmitted from an infected
mother to her baby during childbirth and cause an eye infection or a type
of pneumonia in the newborn. Chlamydia is sometimes called a silent
disease, because it may not produce any noticeable symptoms. For
women who do feel sick following infection, the most common symptoms
are bleeding between menstrual periods, abdominal cramps, pain
during intercourse, and a discharge of pus from the vagina. Men may
notice inflammation or soreness in their testicles, pain during urination,
or a discharge from the penis. One reason why chlamydia is a dangerous
disease in spite of the lack of early warning symptoms in many people is
that it can lead to long-term complications for men as well as women.
Women with untreated chlamydia are at risk of pelvic inflammatory disease
(PID), a condition that can cause lifelong infertility. Some infected
people are at risk of developing a type of chronic arthritis called Reiter’s
syndrome.