Quick Facts

• Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD).
  
  
• Symptoms of chlamydia are rare and most people don’t know they have chlamydia so they don’t get tested.
  
  
• About 2.8 million Americans get chlamydia each year.
  
  
• Chlamydia is passed person-to-person during vaginal, anal or oral sex.
  
  
• During vaginal delivery chlamydia can be passed from mother to child.
  
  
• Anyone who has sex can get chlamydia. The more sex partners, the greater the risk of infection.
  
  
• Chlamydia is known as a "silent" disease because about 75 percent of infected women and about 50 percent of infected men have no symptoms.
  
  
• Chlamydia infection can occur in the vagina, penis, anus and throat.
  
  
• If untreated, chlamydia can develop into serious reproductive and other health problems with both short-term and long-term effects.
  
  
• Women infected with chlamydia are up to five times more likely to get HIV if exposed.
  
  
• Men infected with chlamydia can get epididymitis, a painful condition of the testicles that can lead to infertility if not treated.
  
  
• Chlamydia infection can cause Reiter’s syndrome.
  
  
• Babies who are born to infected mothers can get chlamydia in their eyes and respiratory tracts. Chlamydia is a leading cause of early infant pneumonia and conjunctivitis (pink eye) in newborns.
  
  
• Chlamydia can be easily treated and cured with antibiotics.