Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in America and most often appears in teens and young adults. It’s a bacterial infection spread by vaginal, oral or anal sex. Most people don’t have any symptoms to alert them that they’ve been infected with chlamydia, so they unknowingly pass it from partner to partner.
Chlamydia is easily treated with antibiotics. If it’s not treated, chlamydia can cause serious damage to a woman’s reproductive system. Complications for women can include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a serious infection that can lead to infertility or potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. Widespread infections of the genital tract are rare in men, but can still contribute to infertility.
Untreated chlamydia also raises your risk for getting or giving HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) or herpes.