Laboratory diagnosis of persistent human chlamydial infection

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Chlamydia trachomatis Genotypes and the Swedish New Variant among Urogenital Chlamydia trachomatis Strains in Finland

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

"Uudet" seksiteitse tarttuvat taudit, Lymphogranuloma venereum ja Mycoplasma genitalium -infektio

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Uusi suomalainen klamydiavariantti - haaste molekyylidiagnostiikalle

Alkuvuodesta 2019 TYKS:n mikrobiologian laboratoriossa havaittiin ristiriitaisia klamydiatestituloksia. Niiden selvittelyn tuloksena löydettiin suomalainen Chlamydia trachomatis -variantti, joka ei näkynyt laajasti käytössä olleessa klamydian ja tippurin seulontatestissä. Variantin 23S rRNA -geenin alueella todettiin yhden emäksen mutaatio. Sen vaikutusta bakteerin ­ominaisuuksiin tai kliinistä merkitystä ei vielä pystytä arvioimaan. Arviolta 6–10 % klamydiatapauksista on mutaation vuoksi jäänyt löytymättä Etelä- ja Länsi-Suomessa viime vuosina. Tosin näytteenoton puutteiden takia tapauksia saattaa jäädä toteamatta sitäkin enemmän

Oireettomuus yleistä tippurissa ja klamydiassa

VertaisarvioituTippuritartunnat ovat lisääntyneet. Niitä ei voi kliinisesti erottaa klamydia- tartunnoista. Oireettomuus on yleistä kummassakin taudissa. Ne tulee testata yhtä aikaa. Genitaalialueen klamydiainfektio hoidetaan atsitromysiinillä tai doksisykliinillä ja… genitaalialueen ulkopuoliset infektiot doksisykliinillä. Tippurin hoito toteutetaan herkkyysmäärityksen mukaan. Viljelyn merkitys diagnostiikassa korostuu

Detection of Antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis With Peptide-Based Species-Specific Enzyme Immunoassay

Objective: We have evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a new synthetic peptide-based species-specific enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis IgG and IgA antibodies

Development of a multiplex real-time PCR assay for detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and mutations associated with macrolide resistance in Mycoplasma pneumoniae from respiratory clinical specimens

The aim of this study was to improve detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae in clinical specimens by developing a multiplex real-time PCR assay that includes identification of macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae. Novel assays targeting a M. pneumoniae conserved hypothetical protein gene, M. pneumoniae 23S rRNA gene mutations associated with macrolide resistance and human beta-globin gene (an endogenous internal control) were designed and combined with a previously published C. pneumoniae PCR targeting ompA gene. The resulting quadraplex PCR was validated with a panel of clinical specimens supplemented with external quality assessment specimens, simulated specimens and various bacterial and viral strains. The obtained results were compared to those obtained by reference PCRs or confirmed by sequencing (typing of macrolide resistance). The novel multiplex PCR assay was in 100 % agreement with reference PCRs. Four M. pneumoniae strains with macrolide resistance-associated mutations were identified among 42 strains, which comprises 9.5 % of the study material. Amplification of an internal control excluded sample-derived inhibition possibly leading to false-negative reporting. In conclusion, we have developed a resources conserving multiplex real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection of M. pneumoniae, C. pneumoniae and the most common mutations leading to macrolide resistance in M. pneumoniae. The assay is a widely useful tool for detection of these respiratory pathogens and will also shed light on the occurrence of macrolide resistance in M. pneumoniae.Peer reviewe

Granuloma Annulare and Morphea : Correlation with Borrelia burgdorferi Infections and Chlamydia-related Bacteria

A retrospective study of 109 skin biopsies with granuloma annulare (GA) or morphea histology from patients with suspected tick bite was performed. Biopsies were tested for cutaneous Borrelia burgdorferi DNA using PCR. The same biopsies were analysed for tick-borne novel agents, Chlamydia-related bacteria (members of the Chlamydiales order), using a PCR-based method. Borrelia DNA was detected in 7/73 (9.6%) biopsies with GA and in 1/36 (2.8 %) biopsies with morphea, while Chlamydiales DNA was found in 53/73 (72.6%) biopsies with GA and 25/34 (73.4%) biopsies with morphea. All Borrelia DNA-positive GA samples were also positive for Chlamydiales DNA. The Chlamydiales sequences detected in GA were heterogeneous and contained Waddliaceae and Rhabdochlamydiaceae bacteria, which are also present in Ixodes ricinus ticks, while the Chlamydiales sequences detected in morphea closely resembled those found in healthy skin. In conclusion, tick-mediated infections can trigger GA in some cases, while correlation of either Borrelia or Chlamydiales with morphea is unlikely.Peer reviewe

Chlamydiales Bacterial Sequences in Lesional and Healthy Skin of Patients with Parapsoriasis

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