Among the millions of Americans that are sexually active a sweeping pathogen is hard at work. Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted bacterial infection, has topped the list on a global scale as being the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI). One of the key reasons for this is that this bacterium has the ability to go unnoticed, and as a result, leaves in its wake numerous infected hosts who in turn unknowingly spread the disease further. Screening practices for chlamydia along with education about reproductive health and human sexual behavior are lacking in impoverished regions and without these preventative measures chlamydia continues to gain a foothold.
In 1907 two scientists, Ludwig Halberstädter and Stanislaus von Prowazek, discovered chlamydia on an expedition to study syphilis, but Chlamydia itself is
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Unusual symptoms occur such as painful urination, abdominal pain, and even a fever, are typical red flags that an infection could be present, but with chlamydia many of the obvious symptoms such as a cloudy discharge are not present making this a sleeper epidemic. This is a serious risk when it comes to unprotected sexual activities, because unless there are evident or abnormal signs it goes untreated, “Teenage girls are especially likely to contract it, in part because their cervixes aren't yet fully developed, which makes them more vulnerable to infection. According to some studies, young women aged 15 to 19 account for as many as 46 percent of diagnosed chlamydia cases” (Bierma, 2015, n.p.). Transmission from one partner to the next can be prolific unless a condom is used correctly every time the unaware infected host participates in sexual activity. Many of the stigmas surrounding chlamydia highly rooted in misinformation when it comes to sexually transmitted infections. For example, many feel that just because they have