Molecular Epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis Urogenital Infection

Each year an estimated 340 million new cases of curable sexually transmitted infections occur worldwide, with the largest proportion in the region of South and South East Asia, followed by subSaharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (WHO, 2006). Chlamydia trachomatis infections are the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacteria infections recognized throughout the world. World Health Organization (WHO, 2001) estimated that there were 92 million new cases worldwide in 1999 and the incidence of infection has continued to increase each year in both industrialized and developing countries. C. trachomatis is now recognized as one the most common sexually transmissible bacterial infections among persons under than 25 years of age living in industrialized nations such as the United States, where the rate of prevalence runs at 4.2% (Miller et al., 2004).