Hundreds of thousands of new cases of Chlamydia are reported every year, but that possibly constitutes less than half of all the infections. This is due to the fact that half of all Chlamydia cases in men, and three quarters of Chlamydia cases in women go unnoticed as in most of the cases the patients show no symptoms of the disease. According to an estimate by the scientists in the U.S. alone there are 3-4 million new cases reported in a year.
Chlamydia treatment is conducted at the clinics and hospitals. Some local health clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, also do test and treat people for Chlamydia. Treatment of Chlamydia is done as soon as you’re diagnosed with Chlamydia. Diagnosis is done by the doctor. There are several kinds of tests for Chlamydia. It is better to ask your doctor which one is the best for you. Usually diagnosis is done by swabbing the vagina or penis for secretions. Rarely urine testing is done.
| What is Chlamydia? |
The doctor will prescribe antibiotics if you’re diagnosed positive with Chlamydia infection. The antibiotics will clean up the Chlamydia infection in 7 to 10 days. Anyone with whom you’ve had sex should also undergo a test for Chlamydia, since in most of the cases the person may be infected but would not show any symptoms. This includes any sexual partner that you’ve had in the last 2 months or your last sexual partner if it has been over two months ever since your last sexual experience. If your sex partner is diagnosed with Chlamydia he or she must also be treated along with you. It is very important for anyone infected with a Chlamydia to refrain from having sex until they and their partner, if infected are treated and cured totally.
If anybody’s sexual partner is infected with Chlamydia then quick treatment decreases his or her risk of complications. Quick treatment also lour the chances of reinfection if you have sexual intercourse with that partner again. There are pretty much chances that you may become infected again with Chlamydia even if you have been treated and cured as curing Chlamydia doesn’t makes you immune to the infection.
As it is said that prevention is better than cure, it’s better to prevent Chlamydia rather to treat it. Why suffer from pain and agony when with little effort you can prevent the disease. The only way to completely prevent Chlamydia infection is to refrain from all types of sexual intercourse, let it be vaginal, anal or oral. Even if you do have sexual intercourse using a latex condom is a must. This is the only birth control method that will help check Chlamydia infection.
Treatment
C. trachomatis infection can be effectively cured with antibiotics once it is detected. Current Centers for Disease Control guidelines provide for the following treatments:
Untested Treatments
B-lactams are not suitable drugs for the treatment of chlamydia. While they have the ability to halt growth of the organism (i.e. are microbistatic), these antibiotics do not eliminate the bacteria. Once treatment is stopped, the bacteria will begin to grow once more. (See below for Persistence.)
Recent phylogenetic studies have revealed that chlamydia shares a common ancestor with modern plants, and retains unusual plant-like traits (both genetically and physiologically). In particular, the enzyme L,L-diaminopimelate aminotransferase, which is related to lysine production in plants, is also linked with the construction of chlamydia’s cell wall. The genetic encoding for the enzymes is remarkably similar in plants and chlamydia, demonstrating a close common ancestry. This unexpected discovery may help scientists develop new treatment avenues: if scientists could find a safe and effective inhibitor of L,L-diaminopimelate aminotransferase, they might have a highly effective and extremely specific new antibiotic against chlamydia.