Chlamydia A in the female genital tract.

The first genital tract isolates of Chlamydia A were obtained from parents of babies suffering from TRIC ophthalmia neonatorum, by growth in the yolk sac of fertile eggs 1964). It was noted that the fathers of these babies were frequently suffering from non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) and that the mothers often showed changes in the cervix. The isolation of Chlamydia from two of nine un-selected males suffering from NGU confirmed the association of these organisms with non-specific genital infection These early observations have been confirmed and extended since the development of irradiated McCoy cell cultures for the isolation of Chlamydia A. With this technique, it has been established that Chlamydia can be isolated from the urethra of about 40 per cent. of men with NGU Clarke, 1972) and that they are only rarely isolated from equally promiscuous men without urethritis (Oriel and others, 1972; Richmond and others, 1972). However, a similar isolation rate was shown in men suffering from gonorrhoea (G) (Richmond and others, 1972) which threw doubt on whether a chlamydial infection was the initial cause of NGU, and raised the possibility that urethritis of any cause activated an existing but quiescent chlamydial infection in the male urethra. This activated infection appeared to be pathogenic since Chlamydia-positive patients with G were much more prone to develop post-gonococcal urethritis (PGU) than Chlamydia-negative G patients, and since the isolation rate of Chlamydia in men with NGU who had a long-standing untreated urethral discharge was greater than the isolation rate in men who came for treatment early. The present study was designed to investigate Chlamydia in the female genital tract in promiscuous populations. The aims were: (1) To compare the Chlamydia isolation rate in women attending venereal disease (VD) clinics with the rate in a control group of sexually active non-promiscuous women to determine whether Chlamydia are sexually-transmitted organisms; (2) To correlate the finding of Chlamydia with that of gonococci, Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), Candida albicans, and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV 2) to see whether concomitant infection with these recognized pathogens affects the Chlamydia isolation rate; (3) To determine whether factors that influence the hormonal status of the patient (oral contraception , pregnancy, and the stage in the menstrual cycle) affect the Chlamydia isolation rate; (4) To investigate the Chlamydia isolation rate in women who were known consorts of men suffering from NGU and to compare this with the rate in women …