GENOTYPING OF PORTUGUESE CHLAMYDIA-TRACHOMATIS UROGENITAL ISOLATES

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the different Chlamydia trac homatis genotypes in Portuguese patients. Methods: Urogenital isolates (n = 240) derived from attenders of various clinics in the Lisbon are a were differentiated into genovars by genotyping with restriction fra gment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the PCR amplified omp1 ge ne. Results: Genotype E was the most common for both men (47.9%) and w omen (43.8%). Genotypes D and F were the second most prevalent for men (11.3%) and genotype H was the second most prevalent for women (19.5% ). Genotypes F, G, D, in women and H, G, I, in men, were found in a lo wer percentage of cases. Genotypes B, Pa, J, K, L1, and L2 were very r arely detected. Conclusions: With one exception, the overall distribut ion of Chlamydia trachomatis genotypes in our study is similar to what has been observed in other western countries. The only exception is t he unusual prevalence of genotype H among women. The clinical manifest ations associated with this and other genotypes were similar.