Chlamydiae. Nota II: Chlamydia trachomatis.

The Chlamydia trachomatis (C.t.) causes trachoma, inclusion conjunctivitis, lymphogranuloma venereum and it is the more frequent responsible of sexually transmitted infections; in fact, only in the United States, 3-4 million of people suffer from these infections each year. Besides, there are many secondary infections that may cause sterility in man and woman. Risk factors, for venereal infections owed to C.t., are related to the number of sexual partners, age, socioeconomics status and sexual preference. More frequently, the C.t. infects persons that begin sexual activity earlier, those who have many sexual partners and an higher level of education. The direct diagnosis for detecting C.t. can be performed with the citologic test, cell culture, direct immunofluorescence and enzyme immuno-assay. Although, the cell culture is the technique of choice, at present the immunofluorescence and enzyme immuno-assay are the methods preferred because of rapidity and esecution. The indirect diagnosis can be achieved by the complement fixation, indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme immuno-assay tests. In this case, excluding the complement fixation test not more reliable, the method of choice depends, above all, upon the kind of infection in progress. Tetracycline, erythromycin, rifampicin and cloramphenicol are considered the treatment of choice.