Chlamydia trachomatis infection and venereal disease

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated by the irradiated McCoy cell technique from 44 out of 103 men with non-gonorrhoeic urethritis and from 11 out of 15 patients with post-gonococcal urethritis. In women attending the venereal diseases clinics, chlamydial infection was observed in 49 out of 130 patients (38%), an infection incidence of the same order of magnitude as the one noted for gonococcal infection (40%). In 19% both infections occurred simultaneously. Treatment with tetracycline eliminated symptoms and chlamydial infection in almost all cases. The significance of the findings is discussed.