This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Michel, C.-E. C.
Right arrow Articles by Lee, H. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Michel, C.-E. C.
Right arrow Articles by Lee, H. H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1395-1402, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00100-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Chlamydia trachomatis Load at Matched Anatomic Sites: Implications for Screening Strategies{triangledown}

Claude-Edouard C. Michel,1 Christopher Sonnex,2 Christopher A. Carne,2 John A. White,3 Jose Paolo V. Magbanua,1 Elpidio Cesar B. Nadala Jr.,1,{dagger} and Helen H. Lee1*

Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2PT, United Kingdom,1 Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Clinic 1A, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, United Kingdom,2 Department of Genitourinary Medicine, St. Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom3

Received 15 January 2007/ Returned for modification 28 February 2007/ Accepted 12 March 2007

Urethral and endocervical swabs and self-collected vaginal swabs (SCVSs) and urine specimens are all used as samples for diagnosis of urogenital infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. We have now determined chlamydial organism load in matched specimens from different anatomic sites and examined its relation to clinical signs and symptoms in men and women. Organism load was measured with assays based on the ligase chain reaction or real-time PCR analysis. The mean organism loads in 58 infected men were 1,200 and 821 elementary bodies (EBs) per 100 µl of sample for first-void urine (FVU) and urethral swabs, respectively (P > 0.05). Organism load in FVU samples or urethral swabs was positively associated with symptoms (P < 0.01) and clinical signs (P < 0.01) in men. The mean organism loads in 73 infected women were 2,231, 773, 162, and 47 EBs/100 µl for endocervical swabs, SCVSs, urethral swabs, and FVU samples, respectively (P < 0.001 for each comparison). Only the presence of multiple symptoms or clinical signs was associated with organism load in women. These results show that FVU is a suitable noninvasive sample type for men, given the fact that its chlamydial load did not differ significantly from that of urethral swabs. Given their higher organism load compared with FVU, SCVSs are the preferred noninvasive sample type for women.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, EABC Site, Long Road, Cambridge CB2 2PT, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-1223-548080. Fax: 44-1223-242044. E-mail: hl207{at}cam.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 March 2007.

{dagger} Present address: Diagnostics for the Real World, 840 Del Rey Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2007, p. 1395-1402, Vol. 45, No. 5
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00100-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Nadala, E.-C., Goh, B. T, Magbanua, J.-P., Barber, P., Swain, A., Alexander, S., Laitila, V., Michel, C.-E., Mahilum-Tapay, L., Ushiro-Lumb, I., Ison, C., Lee, H. H (2009). Performance evaluation of a new rapid urine test for chlamydia in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ 339: b2655-b2655 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wiggins, R., Graf, S., Low, N., Horner, P. J., for the Chlamydia Screening Studies (ClaSS) Study, (2009). Real-Time Quantitative PCR To Determine Chlamydial Load in Men and Women in a Community Setting. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1824-1829 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wills, G. S., Horner, P. J., Reynolds, R., Johnson, A. M., Muir, D. A., Brown, D. W., Winston, A., Broadbent, A. J., Parker, D., McClure, M. O. (2009). Pgp3 Antibody Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, a Sensitive and Specific Assay for Seroepidemiological Analysis of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection. CVI 16: 835-843 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Moncada, J., Schachter, J., Liska, S., Shayevich, C., Klausner, J. D. (2009). Evaluation of Self-Collected Glans and Rectal Swabs from Men Who Have Sex with Men for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae by Use of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1657-1662 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Michel, C-E C, Saison, F G, Joshi, H, Mahilum-Tapay, L M, Lee, H H (2009). Pitfalls of internet-accessible diagnostic tests: inadequate performance of a CE-marked Chlamydia test for home use. Sex. Transm. Infect. 85: 187-189 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Renton, A, Filatova, E, Ison, C, Meheus, A, Dmitriev, G, Akovbian, V, Taylor-Robinson, D (2008). Performance of direct fluorescent antibody tests for routine diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis in Russian sexually transmitted disease clinics. Int J STD AIDS 19: 851-855 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cunningham, K. A., Beagley, K. W. (2008). Male Genital Tract Chlamydial Infection: Implications for Pathology and Infertility. Biol. Reprod. 79: 180-189 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wisniewski, C. A., White, J. A., Michel, C.-E. C., Mahilum-Tapay, L., Magbanua, J. P. V., Nadala, E. C. B. Jr., Barber, P. J., Goh, B. T., Lee, H. H. (2008). Optimal Method of Collection of First-Void Urine for Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in Men. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 1466-1469 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yu, J T H T, Tang, W Y M, Lau, K H, Chong, L Y, Lo, K K (2008). Asymptomatic urethral infection in male sexually transmitted disease clinic attendees. Int J STD AIDS 19: 155-158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mahilum-Tapay, L., Laitila, V., Wawrzyniak, J. J, Lee, H. H, Alexander, S., Ison, C., Swain, A., Barber, P., Ushiro-Lumb, I., Goh, B. T (2007). New point of care Chlamydia Rapid Test bridging the gap between diagnosis and treatment: performance evaluation study. BMJ 335: 1190-1194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Saison, F., Mahilum-Tapay, L., Michel, C.-E. E., Buttress, N. D., Nadala, E. C. B. Jr., Magbanua, J. P. V., Harding-Esch, E. M., Villaruel, M. O., Canong, L., Celis, R. L., Lee, H. H. (2007). Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection among Low- and High-Risk Filipino Women and Performance of Chlamydia Rapid Tests in Resource-Limited Settings. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 4011-4017 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Magbanua, J. P. V, Goh, B. T., Michel, C.-E., Aguirre-Andreasen, A., Alexander, S., Ushiro-Lumb, I., Ison, C., Lee, H. (2007). Chlamydia trachomatis variant not detected by plasmid based nucleic acid amplification tests: molecular characterisation and failure of single dose azithromycin. Sex. Transm. Infect. 83: 339-343 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»