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[Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection, as evaluated by molecular biology methods]
Antonia Andreu Domingo1, Tomas Pumarola Suñe, Benicio Sanz Colomo
1Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. anondo@cs.vhebron.es
Background:
To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in our area by molecular methods.
Methods:
We describe the combined results of three studies carried out in the city of Barcelona including a total of 408 women considered to be at high risk for acquiring a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The first study was performed in 94 women attended at a public STD clinic located downtown, the second in 112 women attended at the Hospital Clinic and the third in 202 women attended at Hospital Vall d'Hebron (both third-level hospitals). In the first and third study endocervical exudate was tested with a PCR technique, and in the second study LCR was performed in 20-ml urine samples.
Results:
Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 1 woman in the first study, in no women in the second and in 3 women in the third. The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection detected in the three studies using molecular biology techniques was 1.06%, 0% and 1.48% respectively, giving an overall prevalence of 0.98%.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection in our geographic area is surprisingly low.