Chlamydia trachomatisGenotypes and the Swedish New Variant among UrogenitalChlamydia trachomatisStrains in Finland

Abstract

Our aims were to genotype Chlamydia trachomatis strains present in urogenital samples and to investigate the occurrence of the Swedish new variant of C. trachomatis in Finland. We genotyped 160 C. trachomatis positive samples with ompA real-time PCR and analyzed 495 samples for the new variant. The three most prevalent genotypes were E (40%), F (28%), and G (13%). Only two specimens containing bacteria with the variant plasmid were detected. It seems that in Finland the percentage of infections due to genotypes F and G has slightly increased during the last 20 years. Genotypes E and G appear to be more common, and genotypes J/Ja and I/Ia appear to be less common in Europe than in the USA. Although the genotype E was the most common genotype among C. trachomatis strains, the new variant was rarely found in Finland.

Genotyping ofChlamydia trachomatisin rectal and pharyngeal specimens: identification of LGV genotypes in Finland

“…The genotype distribution in rectal specimens differed from that of the pharyngeal (this study) and urogenital swabs,6 although the rectal specimens included in this study were from both heterosexual women and MSM and the pharyngeal specimens were from both heterosexual men and MSM as well as from women. The four most common genotypes among rectal samples from MSM were G (29%), D (27%), E (17%) and L2 (17%).…”

“…In a majority of specimens, enough chlamydial DNA could be extracted from the NAAT specimen collection buffer and used as a template in real-time amplification reactions. In our earlier study, 90% of the C trachomatis -positive urogenital specimens could be typed 6. Here, 81% and 74% of the C trachomatis -positive rectal and pharyngeal specimens could be typed by the pmpH PCR and the ompA PCR, respectively.…”

“…In our earlier study, no LGV genotypes were detected in the urogenital samples investigated by ompA PCR,6 and hence, we studied here rectal and pharyngeal specimens only. During the collection period between February 2009 and August 2011, 7.8% of rectal specimens tested positive for C trachomatis by Aptima Combo 2 Assay and 13% of the genotyped specimens contained LGV DNA.…”

“…To more precisely type the C trachomatis strains, the specimens were analysed by ompA PCR 6. Of the 140 samples, 104 (74%) (71% of the rectal and 79% of the pharyngeal swabs) could be genotyped with the method based on amplification of the ompA gene.…”

“…The other aim was to analyse the prevalence of LGV types among rectal and pharyngeal specimens in Finland. Additionally, we wanted to compare the genotype distribution of C trachomatis strains in rectal and pharyngeal specimens to that of the urogenital specimens in Finland6 and to those of the rectal and pharyngeal strains genotyped elsewhere.…”