title: Prevalence of transformation zone Chlamydia trachomatis DNA and serum antibodies in Tanzanian gynaecological in-patients.
abstract: Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was detected in cervical transformation zone swabs of gynaecological in-patients from Tanzania by two different polymerase chain reactions (PCR), one targetting the endogenous Chlamydia trachomatis plasmid (pCTT1) and the other a chlamydia genus specific rRNA gene. In only 7/131 (5.3%) cervical samples specific amplification products were obtained, in 6 cases with both PCRs, and in one with the plasmid-PCR alone. A 255 nt sequence was determined from the two plasmid-PCR fragments and revealed only one mismatch against the prototype sequence. Antibodies against genus specific chlamydia antigens were detectable by indirect immunofluorescence with titres > or = 1:256 in 29.0% (38/131) of all patients and in 50.0% (11/22) of patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (P = 0.17). No statistically significant association of either chlamydia antibodies or chlamydial DNA with any clinical condition was observable.
authors.affiliation: Angewandte Tumorvirologie, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: ter Meulen
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Mgaya
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang-Claude
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Näher
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meinhard
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mkiwa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawlita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D013636:Tanzania; D002577:Uterine Cervical Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial