Chlamydia Infection among Women in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and Association with Socio-Demographic Factors

Abstract

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. The bacterium invades "wet" (mucous membranes) bodily parts such as the epididymis and genital tracts. It can also infect the throat, anus and rectum. In addition, it can infect the eyes. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of chlamydia infection among women and its association with socio-demographic factors in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) , Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was carried out using the samples of randomly selected 450 female participants of reproductive age to assay for chlamydial infection using ELISA method. The participants were classified into four groups; HIV patients (HP), pregnant women (PTW), out-patient (OP) and healthy volunteer (HV). Socio-demographic data (age, education, occupation and marital status) were obtained from well-structured questionnaires that were distributed to the participants who volunteered to partake in the study. The questionnaires entailed questions on selected sociodemographic characteristics. The result showed there no significant association (p>0.05) between chlamydiosis and age. Similarly, there was no significant relationship between education and chlamydiosis. Again, there was no connection between occupation and chlamydiosis. Finally, there was no link between marital status and chlamydiosis. This study has shown that there is no association between selected socio-demographic factors and chlamydial infection among women attending RSUTH.