Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis intrauterine infection using polymerase chain reaction on chorionic villi.

OBJECTIVE

To detect Chlamydia trachomatis intrauterine infection in the early pregnancy by using chorionic villi.

METHOD: The C. trachomatis infection in pregnant women was investigated by cervical specimens and Clearview kits. DNA of chorionic villi was extracted and the gene of a major outer membrane protein of C. trachomatis was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

RESULTS

120 cervical specimens of the pregnant women were analyzed and 10 cervical specimens were positive for C. trachomatis infection. In this study, the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was approx. 8.3%. Fifty-nine specimens of chorionic villi and three positive specimens of C. trachomatis infection were analyzed by PCR. The incidence of C. trachomatis intrauterine infection in the early pregnancy was 5.1%.

CONCLUSION

The vertical transmission of C. trachomatis infection in the early pregnancy may be a pathway of intrauterine infection. Chorionic villus sampling in early pregnancy and the PCR method could be developed as a technique for prenatal diagnosis of C. trachomatis intrauterine infection.