What are the signs and symptoms of chlamydia?

Signs of chlamydia

Approximately 70% of Chlamydia infections in women and up to 50% of those in men have no visible symptoms. Thus, a large proportion of chlamydia infections will go undetected.

Infections in men

Almost 50% of men infected with Chlamydia do not have physical symptoms.. Chlamydia is the major cause of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Left untreated, urethritis can cause epididymitis (infection of the epididymitis) in young men. After an incubation period of 1 to 3 weeks, the symptoms of chlamydial infection in men include a burning pain while urinating, and a moderate clear or whitish urethral discharge. Chlamydial infection does not significantly contribute to male infertility.

Reiter’s syndrome (urethritis, conjunctivitis, arthritis and mucocutaneous lesions) or reactive arthritis have also been associated with male genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections.

Infections in women

Women with cervicitis can be asymptomatic or may complain of vaginal mucus or pus discharge. Swelling, congestion and bleeding of the cervix have been observed. Urethral infection can be associated with cervicitis.

Infections of the upper female genital tract can result from cervicitis. Endometritis is frequently associated with this and may produce irregular uterine bleeding. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is often undetected since infection is asymptomatic in 70% of women. Chlamydial infections may be the cause of up to 60% of cases of acute PID.

Two-thirds of all cases of tubal related infertility and one-third of all cases of ectopic pregnancy could be due to chlamydial infection.

Infections in newborn babies

Infants of mothers with chlamydial infections can be infected at delivery. The transmission rate via infected vaginal secretions is high (50–70%). Approximately 30–50% of infants of infected mothers will have eye conjunctivitis 5–10 days after delivery. Newborns infected with Chlamydia can also lead to chlamydial pneumonia after 2-3 weeks from initial infection.