[Question #10305] Transmission rates
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24 months ago
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I have probably gone down a rabbit hole- but how often are infections such as chlamydia and gonorrhea or syphillis transmitted ( let’s assume genital to genital… I’m aware oral chlamydia is virtually impossible, thank you Dr. Hook) I have read on the forum that most infections are not transmitted through a single act, but after that single act what is the likelihood of transmission from an infected male to female… with sex once a week for a month. Would the female most likely test positive after 4 exposures?
I have also read where chlamydia and gonorrhea clear on their own, what is the chances of a male carrying asymptomatic infection for 5 months?
Also if a male can clear these infections faster then a female, would the male most likely be reinfected by said female? Or would both partners eventually clear asymptomatic infections?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
24 months ago
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Welcome back so quickly, but I'm sorry you found it necessary. Looking at your discussion with Dr. Hook, it is apparent you are continuing to way over-react to a very low risk situation in regard to STD in general and gonorrhea and chlamydia in particular. You can safely believe you are not infected (and almost certainly never were) and have not transmitted it to your partner.
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Assuming a male with genital infection, there's probably a 50% chance of transmission to a female partner for each episode of unprotected vaginal sex. After 4 sexual encounters, that come to around 90% likelihood she will have been infected.
Male urethral infection probably is gone 90% of the time within 2 months for gonorrhea and probably around 4 months for chlamydia. These are only rough estimates -- precise data do not exist. Probably under 1% would still be infected after 5 months.
There are no data on reinfection risk if repeatedly re-exposed. But this is simply too speculative and too unlikely to worry about. Do try to think objectively. Chance you acquired oral chlamydia or gonorrhea last March, probably under one chance in a thousand. If you had oral chlamydia, probably there was no more than one chance in a thousand you infected your partner. The chance for such gonorrhea transmission is higher, but absence of symptoms in your partner is nearly 100% proof he didn't get it. Then you have all your negative test results. All things considered, there simply is no chance your partner now has either of these infections.
Do your best drop your concerns about all this. If you cannot, professional counseling may be a consideration; I suggest it from compassion, not criticism. In any case, there's no point in hypothetical questions that have no basis in reality.
HHH, MD
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24 months ago
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Thanks for the detailed answers, I appreciate it.
Intelligently I understand my concerns are not warranted, I guess I just have this fear of chlamydia since it is often asymptomatic.
When it comes to 50% of men being asymptomatic, is that penial infections or both penis and rectal infections?
If infected 5 months ago would some one most likely exhibit symptoms by now?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
24 months ago
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The 50% figure is for urethral infections. It's only a rough estimate; probably two thirds of urethral infections do cause symptoms, but often mild and easily disregarded. Rectal infection probably is asymptomatic 90% of the time.
"If infected...?" Already answered both in your previous thread and above. Re-read the replies.
These questions reinforce the psychological issues already discussed.
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24 months ago
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Thx, I am going to do my best to move forward- I think I have a touch of OCD and am trying to break the cycle with as much information as I can get. Would sex 6 times bring that infection rate closer to 100%?
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
24 months ago
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My 90% figure was an approximation off the top of my head, not an actual calculation. For that, you can do the math as well as I can. But what difference can 6 versus 5 exposures make? What difference does it make if the calculated risk is 90%, 93%, or 96%, for goodness' sake?? Especially when it's an impossible scenario anyway, i.e. no chance your partner is infected???
A basic aspect of OCD is that simply having the facts or probabilities never resolves a concern about a particular obsessions. There's always a "yes but", "what am I missing", or "could I be the exception" sort of dynamic. I'll bet you see this in yourself. If all this is dominating your life as much as seems likely from your forum discussions, counseling definitely should be at the top of your list. Ask your doctor for a referral. Good luck with it.
Please note the forum policy against repeated questions on the same topic or exposure, especially when anxiety-driven. This being your second about this exposure and your irrational STI fears, it will have to be your last one; such repetitive questions are subject to being deleted without reply and without refund of the posting fee. Like my advice about counseling, this policy is based on compassion, not criticism, and to reduce temptations to keep paying for questions with obvious answers. In addition, experience shows that continued answers tend to prolong users' anxieties rather than reducing them -- often because of the OCD issues just discussed. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main purposes. Thanks for your understanding.
I do hope the discussions have been helpful. Best wishes.
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