Preface

*Chlamydia – Secret Enemy from Past to Present* is written by a group of distinguished clinicians, scientists, and educators from different countries. The book examines chlamydial infections using a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. The microbiology, clinical presentation, and current approaches in the diagnosis and treatment management of chlamydial infection are presented from the viewpoint of different clinics, accompanied by recent literature. We believe this book will be a useful resource for researchers and clinicians.

The book consists of twenty-one chapters organized into five sections: "Chlamydia as a Bacterium and Current Approaches in Diagnosis", "Chlamydia as a Zoonosis and the Treatment of Chlamydial Infection", "Multidisciplinary Approach to Chlamydial Infection", "Chlamydia as a Sexually Transmitted Disease", and "Pediatric and Adolescent Chlamydial Infection".

Section 1 describes the characteristics of chlamydial bacteria, the laboratory tests that play an important role in infection management, molecular developments in the diagnosis of chlamydial infection, and the latest innovations in chlamydia immunology.

Section 2 presents chlamydia as a zoonosis and discusses treatment approaches and antibiotic resistance in chlamydial infection.

Section 3 examines the clinical presentations of human chlamydial infection in different disciplines and explains the broad range of treatment approaches to chlamydial infection. This section updates the management of chlamydial infection from the perspectives of cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, cardiovascular surgery, and ophthalmology.

Section 4 presents chlamydial infection from the andrological and gynecological perspective as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and discusses the effect of chlamydial infection on fertility. It also explains the importance of chlamydial infection as an STD in terms of public health.

Section 5 evaluates chlamydial infection in the pediatric and adolescent period, its association with pediatric asthma, and its social impact on adolescents.

I would like to thank my wife Pınar Sarıer and my children Nil and Alp, who have added meaning to my life and were always supportive during the preparation of this book.

I also extend my condolences to everyone affected by the devastating earthquake that occurred earlier this year in Turkey and Syria. I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured. Thanks as well to our publisher IntechOpen, who contacted us after the earthquake and offered their sympathies.
