title: Association of genital infection with specific Chlamydia trachomatis serovars and race.
abstract: Black race is an important risk marker for Chlamydia trachomatis genital infection. To define whether C. trachomatis serovars differ by ethnic distribution, a panel of monoclonal antibodies was used to serotype 934 urethral and 581 cervical isolates from patients attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic over 2 years. The overall serovar distribution in cervical and urethral infections was comparable, with B class serovars predominating. Significantly higher inclusion counts were observed both in younger women and in nonblacks regardless of serovar. Serovar D was less frequent among blacks at the urethral site (P = .001), while serovar Ia was more frequent in blacks at both sites (urethral, P < .001; cervical, P = .02). These associations remained significant after adjusting for age and number of inclusion-forming units by multivariate analysis. Thus, specific serovars may be associated with particular racial groups; either behavioral or biologic factors could explain these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Workowski
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Suchland
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pettinger
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Stamm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012703:Serotyping; D014526:Urethritis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002575:Uterine Cervicitis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D044465:White People