Credit: wikipedia.org
Chlamydia trachomatis (/kləˌmɪdiə/ /trəˈkoʊmətᵻs/), an organism responsible for
the most prevalent STD in the United States, is
one of four bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia. Chlamydia
is a genus of pathogenic bacteria that are obligate intracellular parasites.C.
trachomatis is a gram-negative bacterium. It is ovoid in
shape and non-motile. The bacteria are non-spore-forming,
but the elementary bodies act like spores when
released into the host. The
inclusion bodies of Chlamydia trachomatis were first described in
1942; theChlamydia trachomatis agent was first cultured in the yolk sacs
of eggs by Professor Tang Fei-fan et al in 1957.
Disorders caused by Chlamydia trachomatis include chlamydia, trachoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, nongonococcal urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and pneumonia.
C. trachomatis includes three human biovars:
- Serovars Ab, B, Ba, or C — cause trachoma: infection of the eyes, which can lead to blindness
- Serovars D-K — cause urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, neonatal pneumonia, and neonatalconjunctivitis
- Serovars L1, L2 and L3 — lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV).
Many, but not all, C. trachomatis strains have an
extrachromosomal plasmid.
Chlamydia can exchange DNA between its different strains,
thus the evolution of new strains is common.
Identification
Chlamydia species are readily identified and
distinguished from other Chlamydia 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.
Life cycle
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| Credit: wikipedia.org |
Clinical significance
Clinical signs and symptoms of C. trachomatis infection
and Gonorrhea infection
are indistinguishable. Both
are common causes of Urethritis. C.
trachomatis is the single most important infectious agent associated with
blindness (trachoma);
approximately 84 million worldwide suffer C. trachomatis eye infections and 8
million are blinded as a result of the infection. Trachoma
is a neglected tropical disease that has
been targeted by the World Health Organization for elimination by 2020. Read more >>
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlamydia_trachomatis
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