title: Genotyping and prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among women in Belém, Pará, northern Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases in women, and undetected cases of the disease are highly associated with long-term complications. Despite the high prevalence of infections in Brazil, very little is known about the distribution of C. trachomatis genovars. In this study, we determined the prevalence and genotypes of C. trachomatis in women treated at a public hospital in the Brazilian city of Belém, the capital of the state of Pará.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 154 women were tested for chlamydial infection by PCR using specific primers for the C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid. Genotyping of positive samples was performed by sequencing the ompA gene and conducting further phylogenetic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of the 154 samples, 17 were found to be positive using C. trachomatis cryptic plasmid PCR. The overall prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was 11%, with the highest prevalence observed in women between 16 and 20 years of age. Five genotypes were found to be associated with endocervical infection. Genotype F was most frequently found (37.5%), followed by genotypes J (25%), E (25%), I (6.25%), and D (6.25%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study emphasizes the relevance of C. trachomatis infection in the young female population of the Brazilian Amazon region. It also demonstrates the diversity of genotypes involved in genital infection in this population.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Evandro Chagas, Laboratório de Infecções Respiratórias de Origem Bacteriana, Ananindeua, Pará, Brasil. daniellemurici@iec.pa.gov.br.
authors.forename: Danielle Murici
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Brasiliense
authors.forename: Bárbara do Nascimento
authors.initials: Bdo N
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.forename: Wallax Augusto Silva
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008219:Lymphogranuloma Venereum / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C078167:OMPA outer membrane proteins