High-resolution multilocus sequence typing reveals novel urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis strains in women in Mopani district, South Africa.
OBJECTIVE
Recently, we reported a high prevalence (16%) of urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis infections among women in a rural setting in South Africa. Molecular epidemiological studies on C. trachomatis infections could provide insights into the characteristics of this epidemic, yet such data are not available. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the distribution of C. trachomatis strains among women from a South African rural community, the Mopani district, and to compare it with strains from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.


METHODS
High-resolution multilocus sequence typing (hr-MLST) was used to study urogenital C. trachomatis infections in women visiting primary healthcare facilities across rural Mopani District in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Sequence types (STs) were compared with 100 strains from women visiting the sexually transmitted infection clinic in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.


RESULTS
Full hr-MLST data were obtained for C. trachomatis infection in 43 women from Mopani district. Using the complete hr-MLST profile of all 43 women from Mopani district, 26 STs could be identified, of which 18 (69%) were novel to the hr-MLST database. The remaining STs clustered together with strains from Amsterdam.


CONCLUSIONS
Hr-MLST data revealed a diverse molecular epidemiology with novel STs and a specific cluster for the Mopani district. Also C. trachomatis types that occur worldwide were detected.
Public Health Laboratory, Cluster Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Bart
B
Versteeg
Laboratory of Immunogenetics, Department of Medical Microbiology & infection Control, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute for Public Health Genomics (IPHG), Research School GROW (School for Oncology & Developmental Biology), Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Jan Henk
JH
Dubbink
Public Health Laboratory, Cluster Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Center for Infections and Immunity Amsterdam (CINIMA), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Sylvia M
SM
Bruisten
Anova Health institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.
James A
JA
McIntyre
Laboratory of Immunogenetics, Department of Medical Microbiology & infection Control, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Institute for Public Health Genomics (IPHG), Research School GROW (School for Oncology & Developmental Biology), Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Servaas A
SA
Morré
Anova Health institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Remco Ph
RP
Peters
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D052776:Female Urogenital Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012424:Rural Population; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
BACTERIAL TYPING; CHLAMYDIA INFECTION; CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS