Chlamydia causative agent

A dangerous infectious disease, mainly sexually transmitted, is called chlamydia. This disease often occurs in a mild (asymptomatic) form and is therefore most common among the modern population.

The causative agent of chlamydia is Chlamydias (chlamydia), these are microorganisms that, getting on the mucous membrane of the urinary tract, penetrate into the epithelial tissue and cause inflammation. Chlamydias bacteria are parasites capable of completely destroying the cells of the human body and penetrating into deeper layers of tissues.

According to statistics, both men and women aged 15-45 suffer from pathology, but there are also elderly patients. Up to 100,000 new infections are diagnosed annually. The disease is diagnosed by doctors among patients 3-4 times more often than gonorrhea and 10 times more often than syphilis. The main problem of the rapid spread of infection is weak immunity.

Etiology and pathogenesis

Medical specialists distinguish about 15 types of chlamydia pathogens. The incubation period lasts from 5 to 20 days, after which the causative agent of urogenital chlamydia rapidly increases the area of the lesion, spreading to all cells. Pathology is often mechanically transferred to the mucous membranes of the eyes or rectum.

In people with reduced immunity, the infection spreads through the circulatory and lymphatic systems, affecting the lungs, joints, central nervous system, and genitourinary system. Infants suffering from a congenital disease become infected from a sick mother. Cases of transmission of infection by household means are very rare, since bacteria are not able to live outside the human body. The main diseases caused by chlamydia:

• Atypical pneumonia, pyelonephritis, arthritis (Psittaci Chlamydia strains);
• Respiratory chlamydia (causative agent Pneumoniae Chlamydia) this type of strain affects the upper respiratory tract, provokes the development of asthma and atherosclerosis;
• Conjunctivitis, rhinitis (causative agent Felis Chlamydophila);
• Pathology of the genitourinary organs, the causative agent of urogenital chlamydia is "Trachomatis Chlamydia" this species has different subtypes (serotypes) that provoke pathologies such as trachoma, arthritis , Reiter's syndrome and lymphogranuloma.

Among the diseases caused by chlamydia, a special place is occupied by respiratory chlamydia, which is difficult to distinguish from other diseases of the upper respiratory tract. This form is transmitted by airborne droplets and primarily affects the pharyngeal mucosa, and eventually recurs to the mucous membranes of the bronchi and lungs, showing all the symptoms of known respiratory diseases of the upper respiratory tract.

Disease forms

The general characteristic of pathogens is the course of the disease, which is divided into asymptomatic, chronic, acute and subacute types. Each of these types can be distinguished by the main features:

• The asymptomatic (hidden) form proceeds without any painful sensations, since the bacteria are in a latent (sleeping) form and people have no reason to contact a specialist. It is the incubation period. Urogenital infection is discovered by chance, when testing for the presence of an infection of a concomitant disease. The latent type, without proper treatment, becomes chronic.
• The acute form appears a few weeks after bacteria enter the human body. Symptoms appear in the form of pain in the lower back and lower abdomen during intercourse. Both women and men appear discharge from the genital organs.
• Subacute form - a period that occurs two months after the incubation. The most common type.
• The chronic form (persistent) is caused by the absence of signs of the disease, but the "parasites" live and spread in the patient's organs. It occurs after three months from the moment of infection. The patient becomes a dangerous source of infection. In his body, irreversible destructive processes of damage to the mucous membranes occur, which, in place of the dead cells, form a connective tissue that does not perform the necessary functions. During periods of exacerbation, symptoms characteristic of the disease appear.

In advanced cases, with complications, the cardiovascular system, liver tissues and organs of the gastrointestinal tract are involved in pathological processes, causing peritonitis and ascites in the abdominal region. With low patient immunity, respiratory chlamydia can cause pulmonary edema and lead to death.

Clinical signs

The course of the disease in an asymptomatic form is observed in 67% of female patients and in 46% of male patients, which is a great danger, since a sick person is able to infect his sexual partner. The first clinical manifestations are observed immediately, after the end of the incubation period.Women have the following symptoms:

• Foul-smelling yellowish mucus;
• Burning and itching in the vagina and urethra;
• Dull pain in the abdomen and lower back;
• Often - fever and general weakness.

If there is an infection in a woman's body during pregnancy, miscarriages, polyhydramnios, placental abruption, weak labor activity are possible.

In men, Chlamydias affects the urethra and rectum, showing the following symptoms:

• Painful urination with purulent discharge (in the form of white flakes);
• Swelling of the testicles;
• Dull pain in the abdomen and lower back;
• The presence of blood in the seminal fluid.

Complications caused by parasites in the male body are infertility, prostatitis, proctitis and epididymitis. Reiter's syndrome, as a complication, is more common in men than in women and is manifested by urethritis, conjunctivitis and inflammation of the joints - arthritis.

In young children, harmful bacteria often infect the respiratory center, causing respiratory chlamydia. It is not uncommon for infected children to develop conjunctivitis, inflammation of the cornea, and blurred vision.

Diagnosis and treatment

Bacteria-parasites weaken the body and increase its susceptibility to other pathologies of the genitourinary system. Therefore, in 90% of cases, chlamydial infection is a "companion" of thrush, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis, ureaplasmosis, gardnerellosis, mycoplasmosis. This combination enhances the pathogenicity of all microbes and complicates the diagnosis and therapy based on the destruction of the main parasitic pathogen.

Laboratory diagnostics is carried out taking into account the fact that the disease refers to an intracellular infection - their strains cannot be detected in a smear or secretions. To make an accurate diagnosis, tissue scrapings, blood, urine or semen of the patient are used. The main specific analyzes include:

1. PCR is a direct cytological study that allows you to detect the DNA of the pathogen that affects healthy cells, long before the onset of symptoms. PCR results are obtained already on the second day after sampling.

2. Cultural (bacteriological) inoculation is a time consuming but accurate method. The material taken from the patient is placed in a nutrient medium and after 6-7 days, chlamydia colonies are isolated and a test for the sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics is carried out.

Treatment is selected by a urologist, taking into account the individual history of each patient. There are no ready-made schemes and algorithms for therapy. The specialist takes into account the presence of pregnancy in women, concomitant diseases, the state of the immune system and intestinal microflora.

The therapy is based on increasing the body's defenses, taking antibiotics, probiotics and enzyme preparations, the dosage and duration of treatment of which are prescribed by the urologist, for women by the gynecologist. The main drugs used for treatment:

• Josamycin is taken twice a day, for ten days;
• Erythromycin four times a day, for two weeks;
• Klacid up to two times a day, for three weeks;
• Poludan intramuscular injections, up to two times a day, for ten days;
• Spiramycin is taken three times a day, up to three weeks;
< li>Reaferon injections intramuscularly, twice a day, for ten days.

Couples must be treated together, otherwise re-infection from a sexual partner is possible. It is important to strictly follow the doctor's recommendations and in no case self-medicate, the result of which leads to serious complications.

If a child is suspected of being infected, it is urgent to get a referral for testing in order to conduct an accurate diagnosis. According to the results, the specialist will confirm or refute the primary diagnosis. Therapy is carried out exclusively with antibacterial drugs and antibiotics - the spread of parasites that destroy cells is extremely unacceptable.

Children are prescribed vitamin therapy, immunomodulatory drugs, probiotics, with conjunctivitis, the ophthalmologist prescribes drops or ointments. It is important to observe the daily routine and nutrition (walking in the fresh air, eating raw fruits and vegetables).

In most cases, (subject to the treatment regimen and recommendations), the prognosis is favorable and ends in complete recovery.