Chlamydia The
Itchy
Truth



History
 •  Chlamydia
trachoma.s
was
first
discovered
in
 1907
by
Stanislaus
von
Prowazek
in
Berlin.


 •  The
genus
part
of
the
name,
Chlamydia,
 originates
from
the
Greek
word
chlamys,
 meaning
cloak,
and
the
species
part
of
the
 name,
trachomaHs
means
rough.

 •  There
are
roughly
3
million
cases
of
Chlamydia
 each
year
in
the
United
States.



Stanislaus
von
Prowazek











Facts
 •  Chlamydia
does
not
always
have
symptoms,
 someone
can
have
the
infecHon
and
not
even
 know
it.
 •  Signs
and
symptom
are
so
similar
to
 gonorrhea
that
they're
commonly
 misdiagnosed
for
one
another.
 •  It
can
only
infect
Humans



Case
study
 •  Jake,
a
sexually
acHve
20
year
old
male
experiences
pain
 during
urinaHon
for
the
past
few
days.
He
eventually
noHced
 yellow
discharge
coming
from
the
Hp
of
his
penis.
Jake
went
 to
the
doctor
to
be
tested
aPer
noHcing
the
discharge.
The
 doctor
contacted
him
the
following
day
telling
him
he
tested
 posiHve
for
a
Chlamydia
infecHon.
The
doctor
prescribed
him
 the
anHbioHc
azithromycin
to
be
taken
for
7
days.
APer
the
 week
of
taking
the
anHbioHc,
his
symptoms
were
gone.
Jake
 let
his
doctor
know
he
was
concerned
about
contracHng
this
 infecHon
from
his
girlfriend
during
unprotected
sex.
However,
 the
doctor
let
him
know
that
women
can
oPen
have
 Chlamydia
but
not
experience
the
symptoms
right
away.


EHology
 •  Chlamydia
is
an
obligate
intracellular
parasite
with
a
 Gram
negaHve
cell
wall
 •  It
has
two
body
stages:
elementary
and
reHculate

 •  During
the
elementary
stage
are
similar
to
spores,
they
 can
enter
the
cell
and
prevent
being
digested
by
 lysosomes.

 •  During
the
reHculate
stage
the
cells
reproduce
by
 binary
fission.

 •  It
does
not
contain
flagella
making
it
immobile
 •  These
bacteria
spread
in
areas
where
T
cells,
B
cells,
 and
phagocytes
are
not
present


Disease
DescripHon
 •  Chlamydia
invades
the
host
cell,
and
depends
 on
the
host
for
nutrients
and
survival.
 •  It
infects
our
columnar
epithelial
cells
 •  The
incubaHon
period
is
1‐3
weeks,
meaning
if
 you
have
contact
with
an
infected
person
you
 should
expect
to
see
signs
1‐3
weeks
later.



Signs
and
Symptoms
 •  Symptoms
include:
 –  Burning
sensaHon
during
urinaHon
 –  Yellowish
discharge
 –  Rash
around
the
male
or
female
genetailia.

 –  Itchy
Genitals

 –  Pain
during
sex

 –  Cloudy
Urine

 –  Discharge
from
the
penis
or
vagina

 –  If
the
infecHon
spreads
to
the
uterus
and
fallopian
tubes
 symptoms
could
include:
back
pain,
abdominal
pain,
fever,
 nausea,
inflammaHon
of
the
rectum
or
eyes.


Mode
of
Transmission
 •  Chlamydia
can
be
transferred
from
one
 infected
human
to
another
through
sexual
 contact
(
vaginal,
oral,
or
anal).

 •  From
mother
to
child
during
birth
 •  Sharing
unwashed
sex
toys
 •  Contact
with
sexual
body
fluids
is
enough
to
 contract
the
infecHon


Examples
of
the
Rash



Chlamydia
in
the
eye

 •  If
the
eyes
come
into
 contact
with
fluid
that
 has
been
infected
the
 eyes
can
also
receive
 the
infecHon.

 •  If
leP
untreated
it
can
 cause
Trachoma
 (blindness)


DiagnosHc
Process
 •  Diagnosis
can
be
confirmed
by
an
endocervical
 swab
in
women
and
urethral
swab
in
men.

 •  Urine
tesHng
 •  The
presence
of
mucopurulent
discharge
 should
lead
the
physician
to
believe
the
 paHent
may
have
Chlamydia



Methods
of
PrevenHon
&
Treatment
 •  Male
and
Female
 condom
use.
 •  Limit
your
number
of
 sexual
partners.
 •  Get
tested
if
you
oPen
 change
sexual
partners

 •  Ask
your
partner
if
he
or
 she
has
recently
been
 tested.




Number
of
Cases
 •  Chlamydia
is
most
prevalent
among
men
and
 woman
between
the
ages
of
15‐
24.
 •  There
are
roughly
3
million
cases
of
Chlamydia
 that
occur
each
year
in
the
United
States.
 •  From
the
100,000
cases
in
Oregon
in
2011,
 226
cases
were
Caucasian,
391
cases
were
 Hispanic,
and
834
cases
were
Blacks
and
 African
Americans.
 •  475
of
these
cases
were
in
Marion
County.


Importance
to
you
 •  Females:
Chlamydia
is
asymptomaHc
but
can
 lead
to
pelvic
pain
and
ferHlity
issues.

 •  If
leP
untreated,
Chlamydia
can
cause
Pelvic
 Inflammatory
Disease
(PID).
 •  You
could
be
spreading
or
contacHng
it
and
 not
even
know



Pelvic
Inflammatory
Disease
(PID)
 •  PID
can
be
caused
by
untreated
sexually
 transmided
diseases
such
as
Chlamydia.
This
is
 a
very
serious
condiHon
in
women.
1
out
of
8
 women
experience
difficulty
gefng
pregnant
 if
they
have
a
history
of
PID


References

 •  • 

•  • 

• 

Chlamydia
in
Oregon
.
(2012,
May
1).
Search
Results:.
Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
hdp:// public.health.oregon.gov/SearchCenter/Pages/Results.aspx?k=Chlamydia
(
This
site
you
will
find
 valuable
informaHon
on
the
cases
of
Chlamydia
in
Oregon
and
some
simple
facts)

 Mandal,
D.
A.
(2014,
January
14).
Chlamydia
InfecHon
Pathophysiology.
News‐Medical.net.
 Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
hdp://www.news‐medical.net/health/Chlamydia‐InfecHon‐ Pathophysiology.aspx
(
This
site
was
helpful
in
finding
informaHon
on
mode
of
transmission
and
 Pathology)

 Case
Studies.
(1998,
January
1).
Case
Studies.
Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
hdp://www.mhhe.com/ biosci/ap/saladin/student/olc/chap22casestudies.html

(
This
site
was
useful
for
find
case
studies
 and
some
of
the
background
informaHon
on
our
disease
project)

 Chlamydia‐
CDC
Fact
sheet.
(2014,
June
30).
.
Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
(2014,
June
30).
Centers
 for
Disease
Control
and
PrevenHon.
STD
Facts
‐
Chlamydia.
Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
 hdp://www.cdc.gov/std/chlamydia/STDFact‐Chlamydia.htm
(
This
website
was
helpful
with
facts
 about
the
infecHon
and
ways
to
prevent
it
from
being
contracted
or
making
it
worse).
 Chlamydia
Treatment
Symptoms
Pictures
Chlamydia
Symptoms
Pictures
Chlamydia
Treatment.
 (2005,
January
1).
Chlamydia
Symptoms,
Pictures,
Treatment.
Retrieved
July
8,
2014,
from
 hGp://www.std‐gov.org/stds/chlamydia.htm

(
This
website
was
helpful
in
determining
ways
to
 treat
the
symptoms
of
Chlamydia
and
also
gave
detailed
pictures
that
are
used
for
teaching
and
 learning
about
the
disease).