CHLAMYDIA

A bacteria that causes infection very similar to gonorrhea in the way that it is spread and the symptoms it produces. Like gonorrhea, it is found in the cervix and urethra and can live in the throat or rectum. It is very destructive to the tubes (fallopian tubes) that transport eggs from a woman’s ovary to the womb and can cause infertility and tubal pregnancy and severe pelvic infection. Because it is common for infected women to have no symptoms, it is often untreated, leading to extensive destruction of the fallopian tubes and fertility problems. Like gonorrhea, chlamydia is associated with an increased incidence of preterm births. The infant can also acquire the disease during passage through the birth canal, leading to eye involvement or pneumonia. For this reason, all newborns are treated with eye drops after birth. The drops contain an antibiotic which treats chlamydia. Treatment of all newborns is routine because of the large number of infected women without symptoms, and the dire consequences of chlamydial eye infection to the newborn.