ADVANCES IN BIOLOGY, MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION OF INFECTIONS CAUSED BY CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS AND NEISSERIA-GONORRHOEAE

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and genital Chlamydia trachomatis infections are amongst the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. They present similar clinical spectra in both women and men and are probab ly the leading cause of acquired infertility in women. Both are intrac ellular parasites, chlamydiae in an obligate form, gonococci facultati vely. Progress in vaccine development is slow but advances in understa nding the immunobiology and molecular genetics, and, hopefully, access to an experimental animal model, may ultimately lead to success. Toda y, the mainstay in the management and prevention, is epidemiological w ith the use of sensitive and specific diagnostic methods, effective an tibiotic treatment, contact tracing, screening and identifying asympto matic and high-risk individuals, in combination with other traditional and innovative disease-control strategies.