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Show Chlamydia is on the rise in P.C., says clinic director by Christopher Smart Recent scientific advances have made it easier for health practitioners practition-ers to identify Chlamydia (pronounced (pronounc-ed clamiaia), a sexually-transmitted disease that is on the upswing nationally as well as in Park City. The illness is often confused with gonorrhea but requires different treatment. Chlamydia is a bacterial infection whose symptoms include urethral discharge with associated discomforts discom-forts in males and vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, irregular bleeding and fever in females, said Dianna "Some researchers maintain that Chlamydia is as prevalent as the common cold," Maxell said. The disease is much more common than gonorrhea, herpes or syphilis, she added. Chlamydia is probably the leading cause of infertility in the nation, she said. And it can be transferred to unborn infants in cases where it has not caused infertility. However Chlamydia is easily treated, Maxell noted. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent sterility. Maxell points to statistics that Allf.lULJIIJ.LJ.I show most Chlamydia carriers are in their twenties, highly mobile and sexually active. The disease can be diagnosed and treated at the Park City Community Clinic in the Capson, Morris, McComb building, 1515 Park Ave. The clinic charges patients on a sliding scale based on income. Indigent persons can receive state aid to pay for medical costs, Maxell said. The clinic refuses medical services to no one and provides complete confidentiality. Maxell, director and nurse practitioner practi-tioner at the Park City Community Clinic. Until recently the disease was difficult to pinpoint because it mimics viral infection, said Maxell. Like a virus, Chlamydia must incorporate itself into human cells before it can multiply, she said. While it now is possible to isolate and diagnose the disease, Chlamydia testing is not included in routine health screenings because at $15 it is more expensive than tests for other sexually-transmitted diseases. As a consequence it is commonly mistaken for gonorrhea, which, like Chlamydia, causes sterility. But where gonorrhea is treated with penicillin, Chlamydia requires treatment treat-ment by tetra cycline, Maxell said. Maxell characterizes Chlamydia as "a disease of great significance. '!Itt will .affect.. -3 to, 10 ; millions-women . during dhS'Mieistsara apcccdingvto j estimates by national health officials. offi-cials. Currently Chlamydia infects five percent of all female college students. Of the females who now harbor the bacterium, as many as 150,000 may become sterile. |
