Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, is one of three bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia. C. trachomatis is Gram-indeterminate (i.e. cannot be stained with the Gram stain); structurally the organism is Gram-negative. Identified in 1907, C. trachomatis was the first chlamydial agent discovered in humans.
C. trachomatis includes three human biovars: trachoma (serovars A, B, Ba or C), urethritis (serovars D-K), and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV, serovars L1, 2 and 3). Many, but not all, C. trachomatis strains have an extrachromosomal plasmid.
Chlamydia species are readily identified and distinguished from other chlamydial species using DNA-based tests.
Most strains of C. trachomatis are recognized by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to epitopes in the VS4 region of MOMP. However, these mAbs may also cross-react with two other Chlamydia species, C. suis and C. muridarum.
C. trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen (i.e. the bacterium lives within human cells) and can cause numerous disease states in both men and women. Both sexes can display urethritis, proctitis (rectal disease and bleeding), trachoma, and infertility. The bacterium can cause prostatitis and epididymitis in men. In women, cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, and acute or chronic pelvic pain are frequent complications. C. trachomatis is also an important neonatal pathogen, where it can lead to infections of the eye (trachoma) and pulmonary complications.
C. trachomatis may be treated with any of several antibiotics: azithromycin, erythromycin or doxycycline/tetracycline.
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