Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the genitals in women

Direct and by immunofluorescence examination of smears, conducted on 682 women with different diseases of the cervix uteri, allowed the detection of Chl. trachomatis in 10.5% and 11.1% of the subjects, respectively. The incidence of the infection was significantly higher among unmarried women (33.7%) than among married ones (4.2%). In a second group of 305 women, sexual partners of men with chlamydial urethritis, the incidence of infection as found by the two methods of diagnosis was 57.3% and 59.3%, respectively. Colposcopy showed that more than 90% of these women had lesions at the cervix uteri level. High frequency of cervicitis, associated frequently with ectopy of the cervical epithelium in the case of Chl. trachomatis infection, suggested the determinant implication of this pathogen in the inflammatory lesions of the cervix uteri. The ectopy of the cervix epithelium is probably a factor favoring the multiplication of the pathogen.