Study finds Chlamydia can lurk within GI tract Latest study could point to one cause of reinfections

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A study found that millennials are having less pre-marital sex partners than previous generations, with an average of eight partners compared to the eleven that Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers were found to have had.



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A study found that millennials are having less pre-marital sex partners than previous generations, with an average of eight partners compared to the eleven that Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers were ... more Photo: Ryan McVay/Getty Images Photo: Ryan McVay/Getty Images Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Study finds Chlamydia can lurk within GI tract 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

Ever get a gut feeling that something's wrong? Maybe, just maybe, there is something wrong going on in your gut.

Researchers at the Arkansas Children's Research Institute discovered that chlamydia can still lurk within a woman's gastrointestinal tract, even if they've taken antibiotics to get rid of the sexually-transmitted disease. That's because the medication doesn't fully eradicate the infection. Instead, the study, which was performed on mice, shows that chlamydia can hide in the gut (usually benign) and wait to reinfect the patient.

This latest study can come as good news to partners who've been wrongly blamed for giving their partner the STD.

Chlamydia has been dubbed the silent infection since most people who are infected don't show symptoms. It is one of the most common STDs in the world, with 1.4 million cases being reported in America in 2012.