Chlamydia trachomatis serotype A infections in the Amazon region of Brazil: prevalence, entry and dissemination

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical

Marluísa De Oliveira Guimarães Ishak¹  Maurimélia Mesquita Costa¹  Núbia Caroline Costa De Almeida¹  Angélica Menezes Santiago¹  William Botelho De Brito¹  Antonio Carlos Rosário Vallinoto¹  Vânia Nakauth Azevedo¹  Ricardo Ishak¹ 

关键词: Chlamydia trachomatis;    Serotype A;    Seroprevalence;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0037-8682-0038-2015

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

INTRODUCTION: Chlamydia infection is associated with debilitating human diseases including trachoma, pneumonia, coronary heart disease and urogenital diseases. Serotypes of C. trachomatis show a fair correlation with the group of diseases they cause, and their distribution follows a well-described geographic pattern. Serotype A, a trachoma-associated strain, is known for its limited dissemination in the Middle East and Northern Africa. However, knowledge on the spread of bacteria from the genus Chlamydia as well as the distribution of serotypes in Brazil is quite limited. METHODS: Blood samples of 1,710 individuals from ten human population groups in the Amazon region of Brazil were examined for antibodies to Chlamydia using indirect immunofluorescence and microimmunofluorescence assays. RESULTS: The prevalence of antibodies to Chlamydia ranged from 23.9% (Wayana-Apalai) to 90.7% (Awa-Guaja) with a mean prevalence of 50.2%. Seroreactivity was detected to C. pneumoniae and to all serotypes of C. trachomatis tested; furthermore, we report clear evidence of the as-yet-undescribed occurrence of serotype A of C. trachomatis. CONCLUSIONS: Specific seroreactivity not only accounts for the large extent of dissemination of C. trachomatis in the Amazon region of Brazil but also shows an expanded area of occurrence of serotype A outside the epidemiological settings previously described. Furthermore, these data suggest possible routes of Chlamydia introduction into the Amazon region from the massive human migration that occurred during the 1,700s.

【 授权许可】

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