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Chlamydia, also a bacterial disease, is the most common STD. Symptoms much like those of gonorrhea appear one to five weeks after contact. Like gonorrhea, chlamydia can cause sterility in both men and women if it is not treated. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection treated with antibiotics.

Chlamydia which was formerly considered a minor but bothersome disease, is now recognised as a major cause of severe complications in men, women and infants. If it progresses through the male reproductive tract, the results can include an inflamation of the male reproductive tract to cause inflamation of sperm carrying tubes, (epidydimis) or even inflamation of the prostrate gland, (prostatitis), urethral blockages, sexually aquired arthritis of body joints and even permanent sterility.

The symptoms of chlamydia in males, resemble those of early gonorrhea i.e. pain and difficulty urinating, a clear or cloudy white, mucous rethral discharge (this is often noticed upon awakening) frequent urination and urinary irritation or itching.

But about one in five infections are asymptomatic i.e one does not develop symptoms and it is becuase of this similarity bewteen the two diseases and because chlamydia does not respond to the use of penicillin in treatment, many cases of chlamydia are wrongly diagnosed as drug-resistant gonorrhea.

With females, chlamydia is less well defined. Though many will have no symptoms at all, others may undergo abnormal vaginal discharge, bleeding from the cervix and inflamation of the cervix (cervicitis)

Chlamydia can also damge the cervix, the uterus, fallopian tubes and eventually give rise to pelvic inflamatory disease (PID)

On many occasions chlmydia is not detected until a woman gives birth to a chlamydia caused eye infection, or until she herself develops eye disease. This disease has also been identified as a cuase of pneumonia in infants about one to four months after birth.

Most women and even some men may not even experience chlamydia symptoms, making this disease difficult to detect. Some signs however to look for are a bleeding discharge or bleeding from the vagina between periods and a burning pain when urinating. Sometimes, fever, nausea, and severe stomach pains are also present. Boys have a watery drip from the penis. Chlamydia is very contagious and passed easily from one partner to another, and no outward sores give it away. Chlamydia can make men sterile (unable to have children.)

In light of such facts, chlamydia must be considered a major life threatening sexually transmitted disease.

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