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Deborah Dean, Robert J. Suchland, Walter E. Stamm, Evidence for Long-Term Cervical Persistence of Chlamydia trachomatis by omp1 Genotyping, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 182, Issue 3, September 2000, Pages 909–916, https://doi.org/10.1086/315778
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Abstract
Recurrent Chlamydia trachomatis infections are common among sexually active women. Although recurrences with a new chlamydial serovar indicate reinfection, same-serovar recurrences maybe due to persistence. Because persistence has important implications for pathogenesis and patient management, we identified 552 women with >3 recurrences over 2 years. Among these, 130 women (24%) had same-serovar recurrences; 58 (45%) were C class serovars (odds ratio, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.7–3.5; P < .0001). Forty-five isolates from 7 women with 3–10 repeated, same-serovar infections over 2–5 years were studied. As determined by ompl genotyping, 4 women had identical genotypes at each recurrence; 2 women had 1 or 2 amino acid changes following treatment, and one was persistently infected with a unique genotype, Ja. Many intervening culture-negative samples were positive when tested by ligase chain reaction, which suggests persistence. These data demonstrate that cervical infections with C class serovars can persist for years and may have specific biologic properties that allow for modulation of the major outer membrane protein in response to immune selection.
