Seroprevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in Women of Procreate Age in the Mayo-Boneye Department in Chad

Introduction: Chlamydia trachomatis infections constitute a major public health problem, particularly in women. The objective of this study is to identify Chlamydia trachomatis to improve the health of women in the Department of Mayo-Boneye. Methodology: This is a prospective observational study that took place from October to December 2021, including 168 patients with their sociodemographic characteristics. The venous blood of the patients was collected in dry tubes and centrifuged to obtain the serum. The Chlamydia IgG Rapid Test Cassette was used for the detection of antibodies to Chlamydia infection. The Epi Info 7TM software was used to perform the statistical analyses. Results: A total of 168 patients were included in this study. The average age was 26.36 ± 9.21 years, the median was 25.5 years with the extremes of 14 years and 70 years. Among these patients, 46.43% were illiterate, 5.95% and 20.83% were primary and secondary school students, respectively, and 26.79% university students. For marital status, 66.67% were single, 16.67% married, 10.71% divorced and 5.95% widowed. Regarding the profession, 26.79% were traders, 8.93% were employees and 64.29% unemployed. In this study, the 168 patients had performed Chlamydia trachomatis serology among whom 02 (1.19%) were excluded for invalid results and 10.71% presented positive cases. The city of Bongor was the most infected with 61% of cases. Among these patients, 54.22% were linked to risk factors for Chlamydia trachomatis. The most infected age group was between 25 and 35 with a seroprevalence of 5.36% of cases. Conclusion: In this study, Chlamydia trachomatis was positive for 10.71% of diagnosed cases. The most affected age groups are young, sexually active women. The State should emphasize the screening of women, the awareness of students and academics.

Tubal Infertility and Chlamydia Trachomatis in a Congolese Infertile Population

Infertility of tubal origin is the most frequent in sub-Saharan area. It is due to tuboperitoneal lesions mainly because of infection;especially sexually transmitted infection. Worldwide, Chlamydia trachomatis is the main pathogen. In our setting, some studies failed to establish the link between tubal infertility and chlamydia trachomatis. The current study aimed to determine the local data related to chlamydia trachomatis role in tubal infertility and the usefulness of Chlamydia trachomatis antibody titer test (CAT) in discrimination of the patients with and without tuboperitoneal lesions. Patients’ average age was 33.9 ± 4.8 years, average coitarche 19.4 ± 4.4 years and average number of partners: 3.1 ± 1.6. The level of CAT is correlated to the tuboperitoneal severity. CAT was more specific (93.3%;CI 95%: 81.7 - 98.6) than sensitive (72.7% CI 95%: 49.8 - 89.3) and discriminated correctly 89% (AUC = 0.89) of the patients with or without tuboperitoneal lesions. In conclusion, as it is stated worldwide, Chlamydia trachomatis is the most frequent sexually transmitted pathogen associated with tubal infertility. CAT has to be used as a tool to select patients to be submitted to invasive investigation, like laparoscopy.

Evaluation of patients with dry eye disease for conjunctival Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum

AIM:To determine the possibility of the development of dry eye disease(DED) as a result of persistent infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in the conjunctiva of patients.METHODS: This study was conducted on 58 patients of age range 20-50 y,diagnosed with DED confirmed by Schirmer I test and tear breakup time.The non-dry eye control group included 27 subjects of the same age.Ocular specimens were collected as conjunctival scrapings and swabs divided into three groups: the first used for bacterial culture,the second and third taken to detect Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum by direct fluorescent antibody(DFA) assay and polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method. RESULTS: Chlamydia trachomatis was detected in 65.5% and 76% of DED patients by DFA and PCR methods respectively.Ureaplasma urealyticum was found in 44.8% of DED infected patients using the PCR method.Both organisms were identified in only 37.9% of DED patients found to be infected.Control subjects had a 22%detection rate of Chlamydia trachomatis by DFA assay versus a 7% detection rate by PCR; while Ureaplasma urealyticum was detected in 3.7% of the controls by PCR method.The conjunctival culture revealed that gram positive microorganisms represented 75% of isolates with coagulase negative Staphylococci the most common(50%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus(20%),whereas gram negative microorganisms occurred in 25% of cases,isolating Moraxella spp.as the most frequent organism. CONCLUSION: Our results tend to point out that Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma urealyticum were detected in a moderate percentage of patients with DED,and could be a fair possibility for its development.PCR is more reliable in detecting Chlamydia trachomatis than DFA technique.The presence of isolated conjunctival bacterial microflora can be of some potential value.

High frequency of latent Chlamydia trachomatis infection in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

AIM: To determine the frequency of detection of ocular and extraocular Chlamydia trachomatis(CT) infection in non-high myopes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment(RRD).METHODS: This was a single-center, nonrandomized,prospective, case-control study. One hundred and four patients were divided into a study group with RRD(n =63) and a control group with traumatic retinal detachment(n =41). Samples of subretinal fluid(SFR), conjunctival,urethral/cervical swabs, and blood were collected. The frequency of detection of CT infection in SRF samples was determined by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),direct fluorescence assay(DFA) and cell culture, whereas that in conjunctival swabs was determined by PCR and DFA, and those in urethral/cervical swabs and blood were determined by DFA. Yates Chi-square test(with Bonferroni correction) and two-tailed Student's t-test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: SRF CT infection was detected more frequently in the study group(50.8%-71.4%) than in the control group(9.8%-12.2%) by all the methods used(P <0.01). The frequency of detection of conjunctival CT infection by DFA was higher in the RRD patients compared with the controls(81.0% vs 24.4%, P =0.004).The PCR detected conjunctival CT infection more often in the study group than in the controls(46.0% vs 9.8%, P =0.007). The DFA detected CT in blood specimens almost as frequently as in urogenital specimens, for the RRD patients(61.2% vs 63.5%) and the controls(7.3% vs 9.8%). CONCLUSION: CT infection is detected with high frequency in non-high myopes with RRD.

Trichomonas vaginalis and Chlamydia trachomatis Prevalence,Incidence and Associated Factors in Pregnant Adolescents from Belém City,in the Brazilian Amazon

Background: Adolescents are disproportionally affected by sexually transmitted infections (STI). Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) are the most frequent curable STI in adolescents, causing serious consequences for their reproductive health. Therefore, we aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of CT and TV, as well as their risk factors in pregnant adolescents from Belém, northern Brazilian Amazon. Methods: This prospective study enrolled 199 adolescents up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. They were scheduled for follow-up visit between 28 and 29 weeks of pregnancy. Sociodemographic and behavioral data were obtained by interview. Cervicovaginal samples were taken to test for TV, CT, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and bacterial vaginosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test the association of prevalent/incident CT and TV with the variables. Results: Prevalence of cervical CT infection was 33.7% (n = 67/ 199), and for trichomoniasis it was 4.0% (n = 8/199). Cervical ectopy increased the risk for prevalent CT (OR, 1.93;95% CI, 1.01 - 3.70), while having treated vaginal discharge in the past (OR, 0.51;95% CI, 0.26 - 0.98) and being married (OR, 0.10;95% CI, 0.01 - 0.83) were protective against current CT and TV, respectively. Among the 95 (47.7%) adolescents who completed follow-up, 15 cases of incident CT were identified. Incident CT was associated with having a formal or informal job (OR, 28.4;95% CI, 2.1 - 391.6) and bacterial vaginosis treatment at the baseline (OR, 0.08;95% CI, 0.01 - 0.69). Conclusion: Prevalence and incidence rates of TV and CT are high in this population devoid of STI routine screening. Treatment of bacterial vaginosis may benefit this population by reducing risk for CT acquisition.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in the genital tractis associated with inflammation and hypospermia inthe infertile male of China

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial disease worldwide. However, unlikethat in female infertility, the role of CT infection in male infertility remains controversial. The objective of this retrospective studywas to explore the impacts of CT infection in the genital tract on sperm quality, sperm acrosin activity, antisperm antibody levels,and inflammation in a large cohort of infertile males in China. A total of 7154 semen samples were collected from infertile malesubjects, 416 of whom were CT positive (CT+ group) and 6738 of whom were CT negative (CT− group), in our hospital betweenJanuary 2016 and December 2018. Routine semen parameters (semen volume, pH, sperm concentration, viability, motility,morphology, etc.), granulocyte elastase levels, antisperm antibody levels, and sperm acrosin activity were compared between theCT+ and CT− groups. Our results showed that CT infection was significantly correlated with an abnormally low semen volume, aswell as an increased white blood cell count and granulocyte elastase level (all P < 0.05) in the semen of infertile males;otherroutine semen parameters were not negatively impacted. The antisperm antibody level and sperm acrosin activity were not affectedby CT infection. These findings suggested that CT infection might contribute to inflammation and hypospermia but does not impairsperm viability, motility morphology, and acrosin activity or generate antisperm antibodies in the infertile males of China.

The relationship between sexually transmitted microorganisms and seminal quality in asymptomatic men

Objective:To detect DNA of different microorganisms,in semen samples from apparently healthy men and correlate their presence with seminal quality.Methods:Semensamples from 81 healthy volunteers were collected,and semen parameters were analyzed.DNA extraction was performed using the phenol-chloroform technique,and the micro-organisms were detected by the amplification of specific primers using polymerase chain reaction.Results:DNA from at least one of the microorganisms was detected in 78 samples.The most frequent microorganism found in semen were:Lactobacillus spp.(70%),Neisseria gonorrhoeae(N.gonorrhoeae)(36%),Streptococcus epidermidis(64%),Klebsiella pneumoniae(56%),Staphylococcus aureus(32%),Chlamydia trachomatis(C.trachomatis)(28%),Pseudomonas aeru-ginosa(27%).The seminal parameters of all semen samples were over the lower reference values fornormal semenanalysis.To compare with negative samples,seminal volume was higher for the Escherichia coli positive samples and lower for Pseudomonas aeruginosa positive samples.Semen samples positive for Staphylococcus aureus had worse sperm morphology.The frequency of progressive motility was higher in positive samples for N.gonorrhoeae and C.trachomatis.Positive semen samples for C.trachomatis had a higher concentration per milliliter.Conclusion:It is common to find microorganisms in semen of asymptomatic men,including those responsible for sexually transmitted infections.Antimicrobial treatment is recommended only in those individuals with a sexually transmitted infection(C.trachomatis and N.gonorrhoeae)and always promote condom use.