Detecting common sexually transmitted diseases that strike in unpredictable ways

A group of scientists led by Dr. Teresa Batteiger, assistant professor at Indiana University, USA, has just published a warning study about chlamydia, one of the sexually transmitted diseases that is "as old as the earth" but continues to cause confusion.

This time, they discovered that these seemingly easy-to-treat bacteria can live hidden in the human gut, an extremely harsh environment, and then carry pathogens to other areas of the body.

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease - illustration photo from the internet

The study looked at the cases of 200 men who had rectal chlamydia infections, even though they claimed to be heterosexual and had never had anal intercourse.

Detailed investigations have shown that these familiar but unpredictable bacteria have indeed found another way to invade. They can enter the mouth through oral sex and travel down to the lower areas of the digestive system; or through genital fluids accidentally smeared on the anal area to attack the digestive system.

The scary thing is that the human intestinal environment is very harsh, the fact that a sexually transmitted bacteria survives well when "swimming" through the digestive tract proves that they are more tenacious and scary than we think.

The study provides important data for the fight against chalmydia. According to statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US, with about 1.7 million new cases each year. Meanwhile, statistics in the UK show that chlamydia accounts for 46% of all sexually transmitted diseases in this country.

According to the CDC, chlamydia can be treated with little difficulty if detected early. However, if not treated properly and promptly, the disease can cause serious and permanent damage to the reproductive organs.

In women, it can damage the fallopian tubes and cause infertility or increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy. In men, it can attack the testicles and vas deferens, but the rate of infertility is lower. Untreated chlamydia can also increase the risk of getting or transmitting HIV.