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Chlamydial Infections

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Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Practice ((CCP))

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States and is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection (1). The word chlamys is Greek for “cloaked” or “draped,” descriptive of the intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies that are “draped” around the host cell nucleus. A large reservoir of infection sustains the continued spread of C. trachomatis because chlamydial infections rarely cause symptoms in women, they have a long incubation period, and the infection persists for at least several months. The annual cost of shortand long-term impacts of chlamydial infections in the United States was estimated to be $2.4 billion in 1987 and has increased since that time (2).

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© 2006 Humana Press Inc.,Totowa NJ

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Phillips, A.J. (2006). Chlamydial Infections. In: Nelson, A.L., Woodward, J., Wysocki, S. (eds) Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Current Clinical Practice. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-040-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-040-9_6

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-570-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-040-9

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