Chlamydia trachomatis and non-gonococcal urethritis

Chlamydia trachomatis serotypes D-K are felt to be a common cause of non-gonococcal urethritis for the following reasons:

• it is rarely isolated from the genital tract of men without NGU
• it is isolated from up to 70% of males in their first attacks of NGU
• it is isolated from the cervix of 80% of female contacts of chlamydial urethritis

Chlamydia represents the commonest identified cause of urethritis in men, causing up to 30,000 cases of NGU each year. However in women, infection is often asymptomatic. Via routine screening programmes in family planning clinics, it has been shown that 5-10% of women have an unsuspected chlamydial infection. A urine screening test for chlamydia infection using a ligase chain reaction assay has shown potential as a possible future screening test.

Reference:

1. BMJ (1997), 315, 226-30.