Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide. In women, chlamydia infections are 75% asymptomatic and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Infants exposed to the microorganism at birth also have a high risk to develop conjunctivitis and pneumonia.
Aim: To determine the prevalence of C trachomatis in women in the Metropolitan area of Santiago (Chile).
Patients and methods: Cervical specimens were collected from 403 women attending three gynecological outpatient settings from April 2003 to June 2005. These included one public hospital (n=100), a private medical center (n=268), and a clinic for adolescents (n=35). Mean ages of each group of patients were 35.6+/-8,2, 33.4+/-8.1 and 16.9+/-4.2 years, respectively. The diagnosis of C trachomatis was performed by the amplification by PCR of a 517-base pair segment of the cryptic plasmid on specimens extracted by a commercial procedure. Positive specimens were confirmed by nested PCRs targeting the ompl gene. The presence of vaginal infections and its association with C trachomatis was investigated in a subset of 223 women of the private center.
Results: C trachomatis was detected in the cervix of 19 out of 403 women, resulting in a prevalence of 4.7%. The distribution of positive cases among different age groups was not significantly different. Women presenting with bacterial vaginosis had a significantly higher prevalence of C trachomatis infection (p<0.01).
Conclusions: This study found a high prevalence of C trachomatis among gynecologic patients that should prompt preventive strategies.