chlamydia

American  

[kluh-mid-ee-uh] / kləˈmɪd i ə /

noun

plural

chlamydiae

1. Microbiology. any coccoid rickettsia of the genus Chlamydia, parasitic in birds and mammals, including humans, and causing various infections, especially of the eyes, as trachoma, lungs, as psittacosis, and genitourinary tract, as urethritis or chlamydia.

2. Also called lymphogranuloma venereum.  Pathology. a widespread, often asymptomatic sexually transmitted disease caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, a major cause of nongonococcal urethritis in men and pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy in women.

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chlamydia British  

/ kləˈmɪdɪə /

noun

1. any Gram-negative bacteria of the genus Chlamydia , which are obligate intracellular parasites and are responsible for such diseases as trachoma, psittacosis, and some sexually transmitted diseases

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chlamydia Scientific  

/ klə-mĭd′ē-ə /

plural

chlamydiae

1. Any of various bacteria of the genus Chlamydia, several species of which cause common infections in humans and animals, including neonatal conjunctivitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, and sexually transmitted infections of the pelvis and urethra.

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Etymology

Origin of chlamydia

First recorded in 1945 in an article by Helen Jones, Geoffrey Rake, and Barbara Stearns as the proposed name of a taxon; 1966 in the current sense; from New Latin, from Greek chlamyd- (stem of chlamýs chlamys ) + New Latin -ia -ia

Compare meaning

How does chlamydia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• chlamydia vs. gonorrhea

Example Sentences

Koalas infected with chlamydia are usually given antibiotics but the treatment means they cannot digest eucalyptus leaves - their only food source - leading to starvation and sometimes death.

From BBC

The rates of chlamydia remained about the same in 2023 as the year prior.

From Salon

Of the top reasons koalas are brought into wildlife hospitals – vehicle strikes, pet attacks and chlamydia – the bacterial infection is the biggest and deadliest.

From BBC

The work, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, introduces a potential game-changer in the fight against intracellular pathogens responsible for causing devastating infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria and chlamydia.

From Science Daily

The treatment is considered very effective at preventing chlamydia and syphilis, but may be less effective against gonorrhea; protection against gonorrhea may vary because some strains are resistant to doxycycline, Stewart said.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

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• venereal disease