Genotyping of Chlamydia trachomatis from the endocervical specimens of high-risk women in Hungary

Abstract

The distribution of differentChlamydia trachomatisserovars in Hungary has not been reported previously. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution and prevalence ofC. trachomatisserovars in a high-risk population by genotyping. The endocervical specimens of 484 female sex workers (FSWs) were screened forC. trachomatisby plasmid PCR. Genotyping was performed in allC. trachomatis-positive samples by PCR-based RFLP analysis of theomp1gene. A total of 32 specimens (6.6 %) were positive forC. trachomatis. Age was an important risk factor forC. trachomatisinfection in FSWs. The highest prevalence was detected in women under the age of 20 (18.8 %). All positive specimens were successfully genotyped and seven serovars were identified. The most prevalent was serovar D (34.4 %), followed by E (21.9 %), F (18.8 %), G (9.4 %), J (9.4 %), H (3.1 %) and I (3.1 %). A heterogeneous distribution ofC. trachomatisserovars was observed in the study group, where the most common serovars were D, E and F comprising 75 % of the positive samples. This PCR-based RFLP method could be used in epidemiological studies on the prevalence ofC. trachomatisinfection to provide more information and to compare the serovar distribution among different cohorts.