Contact-tracing in patients with genital chlamydial infection

Abstract

SUMMARY Of 2021 men attending a venereal disease clinic during a 20-month period, 527 (26' 1 07) harboured Chlamydia trachomatis, 310 (15 a 3%) Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and 94 (4' 7%) both organisms. C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae were isolated in 163 (15' 707o) and 141 (13 -807o) respectively of 1039 women attending the same clinic over a one-year period; 44 (4' 2%) women harboured both organisms.Contact-tracing was carried out for 112 male and 88 female patients infected with chlamydia, none of whom had gonorrhoea. Of the 144 female contacts, 103 (71*5%) attended for examination and 67 (65%) were found to harbour chlamydia. Of the 103 male contacts, 95 (92'2%) attended for examination and 50 (52' 6%) were found to harbour chlamydia. Of the 67 female contacts, about 55% were symptomless as were 5007o of the male contacts. Cultures for N gonorrhoeae from the sexual contacts of patients with genital chlamydial infections showed positive results in 37 (18' 50o) of the 200 contacts examined.For comparison the results of contact-tracing in 201 male and 231 female patients with gonorrhoea were analysed. Of the male and female contacts, 64' 507o and 66 1' o respectively attended the clinic for examination. N gonorrhoeae was isolated from 77' 7%o of the female and from 85' 6%o of the male contacts; about 40% and 5007o respectively were symptomless.The high percentage of symptomless carriers of C trachomatis among sexual contacts emphasises the need for tracing contacts of this infection.

Efficacy of partner notification for Chlamydia trachomatis among young adults in youth health centres in Uppsala County, Sweden

“…Establishing STI clinical services in non‐clinical, institutional or community settings is typically more expensive than clinic‐based approaches but can yield substantial benefits if services are extended to persons at higher than average risk of acquiring or transmitting STIs within communities 13,14 . Previous studies in Sweden have shown that attendance rates for identified partners of C. trachomatis –infected patients in primary health care setting changed from 72% in 1980 (before the Communicable Diseases Act) 15 to 99% in 1993 4 . However, there have previously been few measurements of the effectiveness of the partner notification carried out by the youth health centres in Sweden.…”

A double‐blind randomized study of the effect of erythromycin in preventing pelvic inflammatory disease after first trimester abortion

“…This regimen does not delay the abortion if C. trachomatis is identified by rapid immunological methods rather than by culture. To avoid reinfection, sexual partners ought to be identified and treated (Thelin et al . 1980; Westrøm 1982).…”

Gonococcal and Chlamydial Genitourinary Infections in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Adolescent Women

“…14,23 However, this is lower than the proportion due to asymptomatic disease reported in the literature regarding adolescent women with chlamydia. This is consistent with reports in adult women that 30-80% of chlamydial urogenital infections are asymptomatic, 21,22 as are 20-40% of gonococcal infections.…”