Screening of Chlamydia trachomatis urogenital infections among the male and female population of the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

Noninvasive urine screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infections offers a valuable public health tool, that could be of vast importance in Chlamydia control programs. The goal was to determine the prevalence of C. trachomatis infections among a sexually active population, to define the epidemiological factors associated with it, and to develop potential selective screening strategies among asymptomatic individuals in the Republic of Macedonia, using a highly sensitive and specific DNA amplification method for C. trachomatis. A total of 1435 urine samples, divided into two main groups: asymptomatic individuals (n = 1210) and symptomatic patients (n = 225), were tested. Samples from the asymptomatic group were collected during routine screening programs, while the symptomatic group consisted of patients with symptoms of urogenital tract infection, attending sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinics. The presence of C. trachomatis was determined using commercial AMPLICOR C. trachomatis Assay (Roche Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Branchburg, NJ, USA). The prevalence of C. trachomatis infections among different groups was: recruits 0%, soldiers 0.4%, policemen 3.5%, clerks 4.6%, pregnant women 4%, and students 4.4%. The average prevalence for both groups (asymptomatic and symptomatic) was 2.3%[95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5-3.1%]. The average prevalence for the asymptomatic group was 1.6% (95% CI: 0.8-2.4%), while the average prevalence for the symptomatic group was 6.2% (95% CI: 3.1-9.3%) which were significantly different (P = 0.00003). Testing first void urine specimens by AMPLICOR C. trachomatis assay is a highly sensitive and specific method for diagnosing C. trachomatis infections in men and women. This method provides health care workers and public health officials with a new molecular amplification assay that uses noninvasive urine specimens for population-based screening purposes. The prevalence of C. trachomatis was relatively low among asymptomatic individuals. However, selective screening strategies are highly recommended for testing the student population in the Republic of Macedonia.

Monitoring of Chlamydia Trachomatis Genitourinary Infection in Women - Analytical Comparative Study Using Public Health Records from Two Balkan Countries

“…This was, in comparison to other similar studies conducted in Serbia, lower by about 3-5 times (8,9). On the other hand, compared to other studies carried out in the FYR of Macedonia, our results are either higher for more than two times or lower for about a quarter to a third (13,14). The data from Montenegro also show considerable variability and results for the general population are closer to those in Pomoravlje County than to the data from Skopje (12).…”

“…The survey conducted in Montenegro found the prevalence of chlamydial infection of 4.17% in the general population but for the subgroup of women aged 26-35 years the frequency was ten times greater (47.8%) (12). In the Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, the screening on Chlamydia trachomatis in group of women and men selected from the general population found this infection in 1.6% (95% confidence interval 0.8-2.4%) among persons without genitourinary infection symptoms and in 6.2% (3.1-9.3%) of symptomatic subgroup (13). The additional, small-size study in this country reported 24.3% prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis presence in genitourinary system in woman (14).…”

Predictors identifying those at increased risk for STDs: a theory-guided review of empirical literature and clinical guidelines

“…Studies rated as 'marginal' (24%) 7,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] , 'acceptable' (41%) , and 'commendable' (28%) 4,78-97 were retained in the review. Table 4 summarizes the 70 studies that were retained for further assessment.…”

May Chlamydia trachomatis be an aetiological agent of chronic prostatic infection?

“…The prevalence pattern worldwide among the general population ranges between 1.5% and 9% (Jascheck et al, 1993;Mulhall et al,1995;Stary et al, 1996;Morre et al, 1999;De Barbeyrac et al, 2000;Spasovski et al, 2005).…”