Chlamydia trachomatis infection among young adults residing at the University of Port-Harcourt hostels in Rivers State Nigeria.

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is notorious for causing asexually transmitted infection (STI) known as Chlamydia. It can be asymptomatic for 12-18 months and is known to cause complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy in females, as well as urethritis and epididymitis in males if left untreated. This study aimed to assess and determine the prevalence rate of Chlamydia trachomatis young adults residing at the University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT) hostels in Rivers State Nigeria. Research by various experts has shown that Chlamydia is the highest bacterial STI among young adults, especially among college-aged students and this birthed an investigation to determine the prevalence rate of this infection among hostel residents in UNIPORT. The participants in this research were sexually active males and females. Cervical swab samples were taken from the females and urine samples from the males. One hundred and three (103) samples were used to determine the result. LabACON Chlamydia rapid test cassette was used to determine the Chlamydia status of the participants. The overall prevalence rate of Chlamydia was 2.9%, with the female participants having a higher rate of 3.7% and the males having a prevalence rate of 2.0%. Only 45.6% of the participants had previous knowledge of this infection. The other 54.4% have never heard of Chlamydia. This study provided an updated record of prevalence among hostel residents of UNIPORT. It was also able to assess the student's knowledge of Chlamydia and recommend increased awareness, education, and screening efforts to reduce the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis among the general population.