Chlamydia: Drug Therapy

Therapy goals

  • Elimination of the pathogens
  • Avoidance of complications
  • Partner management, i.e. infected partners, if any, must be located and treated (contacts must be traced for 6 months).

Therapy recommendations

  • Doxycycline (tetracycline) is considered the first-line agent for all subgroups of Chlamydia
  • Antibiotic therapy with doxycycline and erythromycin may cause recurrence (reoccurrence of infection) even in uncomplicated genital (sex) infections. Therefore, a treatment duration of 14 days is recommended.
  • In complicated infections such as pelvic disease or epididymitis (epididymitis), a two-week therapy is required, if necessary, parenteral therapy (infusion through a vein).
  • The duration of treatment for lymphogranuloma venereum (sexually transmitted disease transmitted by serotypes L1-L3 of the bacterial species Chlamydia trachomatis) should be three weeks.
  • See also under “Further therapy“.