[Diagnosis of Chlamydia infections]

Tissue culture for Chlamydiae requires facilities that are not generally available, are costly and require 3 to 7 days for completion. With the introduction of specific monoclonal antibodies Chlamydia trachomatis can be recognized within 30 minutes. Therefore the direct specimen test should be performed as the method of choice. In complicated, ascending forms of the disease requiring special methods for sample collection (e.g. laparoscopy), serology may aid in the diagnosis of a Chlamydia trachomatis infection.