Chlamydia still remains Ireland’s most dominant STD

Chlamydia is the most commonly notified sexually transmitted disease in Ireland.

There were 7,408 notifications of chlamydia in 2017 which was an 8pc increase in the number compared to 2016.

The notification rate increased 6pc among males and 11pc among females.

Young people were mostly affected by chlamydia in 2017, with over half of the cases reported among those aged 15-24 years.

Although chlamydia doesn’t usually cause any symptoms and can normally be treated with a short course of antibiotics, it can be serious if it’s not treated early on.

If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of the body and lead to longterm health problems such as; pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the testicles) and infertility. It can also sometimes cause reactive arthritis.

Testing for chlamydia is done with a urine test or a swab test.

Chlamydia can usually be treated easily with antibiotics.

A patient may be given some tablets to take all in one day, or a longer course of capsules to take for a week.

Most people with chlamydia don’t notice any symptoms and don’t know they have it.