Genital and neonatal chlamydial infection in a trachoma endemic area

85 consecutive male patients with urethritis attending the Medical Research Council outpatient department in Fajara, The Gambia, were investigated for Chlamydia trachomatis infection by intraurethral swab and culture on cycloheximide-treated McCoy cells. 7 specimens were contaminated, but C. trachomatis was isolated from 12 of the remaining 78 (15.4%)--from 8 of 59 patients with gonorrhoea (13.6%) and 4 of 19 with non-gonococcal urethritis (21%). C. trachomatis was also isolated from cervical swabs from 6 of 33 female contacts of men with urethritis (18.2%), 3 of 22 women with gynaecological symptoms (13.6%), and 6 of 87 randomly selected antenatal women (6.9%). Eye swabs were taken from 37 infants with ophthalmia neonatorum; C. trachomatis was isolated from 13 (35.1%).