In 2018, 26,570 chlamydia cases were registered in Norway, 5.7% more than in 2017. This is the highest number of cases since 2005.
The latest figures for chlamydia, where all the figures from 2018 are made available in the National Infectious Disease Surveillance System, MSIS, which arrived on Wednesday morning. Department Director, Hilde Kløvstad of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) emphasized that reported incidence represents real prevalence.
‘’Chlamydia seldom showss symptoms. Therefore, it is not sufficient to have information on the number of cases diagnosed to understand the prevalence of theinfection. The number of people diagnosed with
chlamydia must also be seen in the context of how many people are tested, and the gender and age distribution among those who test themselves’’ Kløvstad said.
The number tested for chlamydia last year was 362,603 for the whole country, of which 7.3% were tested positive. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of surveys, while at the same time there are fewer cases among those who test themselves. From 2017 to 2018, the trend has gone the opposite way, with a small decrease in the number of investigated, while the number of positive samples increased.
Chlamydia infects via unprotected sex and is now the most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection we have in Norway. The disease can be treated with antibiotics.
If chlamydia is not detected or treated, in some cases it may cause complications such as pelvic infection, uterine pregnancy, infertility,
and chronic abdominal pain. However, it is not known how great the risk is for complications.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
