What is chlamydia?

Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Australia and most common in young people 16-25 years of age. In the majority of people chlamydia has no signs or symptoms and so people don't know they have it. Chlamydia is a serious infection and if left untreated can cause infertility in men and women.

Important points about chlamydia
-You can have chlamydia and not know it because you might not have symptoms. Likewise someone you sleep with could give you chlamydia without even knowing it.
-The test for chlamydia is painless, it is a simple urine test which will only be tested for chlamydia, no other viruses or substances will be tested for in your urine.
-The treatment for chlamydia is effective and simple
-A Pap smear does not test for chlamydia, you need to ask for a chlamydia test.

Chlamydia is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. People infected with chlamydia are sometimes not aware of their infection because approximately 75% of women and 50% of men have no symptoms. Because of symptoms in so little cases, the community as a whole is unaware of the disease, this is largely responsible for the continuing epidemic in the country. For example in Australia, there has been a 500% increase in notifications in the past decade.