Molecular epidemiology of genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection in high-risk women in Senegal, West Africa

The prevalence and heterogeneity of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in a c ohort of female set workers in Dakar (Senegal) were determined by using end ocervical-swab-based PCR DNA amplification assays. The overall prevalence o f cervical chlamydial infection,vas 28.5% (206 of 722), and most of these i nfections were asymptomatic. An increased number of sexual partners was sig nificantly associated with infection (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06 to 1.77), while the presence of a yeast in fection was negatively associated with chlamydial infection (AOR = 0.28; 95 % CI = 0.10 to 0.83). Sis different C. trachomatis genotypes were identifie d based on phylogenetic analysis of the omp1 gene sequences. Interestingly, genotype E predominated (47.6%) and was not associated with visible signs of cervical inflammation compared to non-E genotypes (P < 0.05). Overall, t he high rate of asymptomatic C trachomatis infection bg genotype E may sugg est genotype-specific properties that confer a transmission advantage in th is high risk population.