MARION COUNTY — The Marion County Health Department reports a more than 50-percent increase in reports of the sexually transmitted disease Chlamydia compared to a year earlier.

Reports say that since July of 2017 cases of Chlamydia reported to the health department went from 84 cases to 128.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection. Both men and women can contract the infection, which can cause serious, permanent damage to a woman’s reproductive system and make it difficult or impossible to get pregnant later on.

Chlamydia can also cause a potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy which means a pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus.

If a pregnant woman has Chlamydia, she can pass the infection to her baby during delivery.

Chlamydia can cause an eye infection or pneumonia in a newborn baby and make it more likely to have a premature birth.

If a woman is pregnant, she should get tested for Chlamydia at her first prenatal visit.

Testing and prompt treatment are recommended for all pregnant women and anyone who is sexually active outside of a long-term mutually monogamous relationship.