Prevalence Of Specific Antibodies To Chlamydia Trachomatis Among Women On Routine Gynecological Visit To Jimma University Specialized Hospital Jimma South West Ethiopia

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is a key global issue facing women’s reproductivernhealth. The worldwide prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis genital infection (CTGI) isrnestimated to be 700 million, with highest prevalences in sub-Saharan Africa.rnTo determine the prevalence of antibodies to genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection and tornassess related socio-demographic and reproductive factors, 184 women routinely visiting therngynecology out-patient department of Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH) wererninvestigated during March 2005 – February 2006. Specific IgG and IgM antibodies tornChlamydia trachomatis were detected using an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assayrn(ELISA) system on 184 sera collected from these women. Socio-demographic information asrnwell as gynecologic/reproductive information was collected by interviewing. Physicalrnexamination was also done for the patients. Complete data were obtained for 184 women. Thernmajority of the women (47.3%) were in the 20-29 year age group. The minimum age of thernstudy participants was 12 years. The prevalence of antibodies showing exposure to genitalrnChlamydia trachomatis was: IgG 45.6% and IgM 5.4%. Seven women (3.8%) had positivernserology for both IgG and IgM. Higher prevalence of IgG antibodies was found in women inrnthe 20-29 year and 30-39 year age groups which was 21.7% and 12.5%, respectively,rnalthough the difference in the different age groups was not significant (p>0.05). Thirty-fourrnpercent of the study subjects had a history of one or more abortion, of whom 17.4% hadrnpositive IgG serology. The minimum and mean ages of the women at first sexual intercoursernwere 12 years and 16 years, respectively. Physical examination revealed no symptoms ofrnreproductive tract infection (RTI), sexually transmitted infection (STI), urinary tract infectionrn(UTI) or other gynecologic abnormalities in 19% of the women. Evidence of Chlamydialrninfection was found in half of the women who were asymptomatic. The majority of the womenrn(81%) had either one or multiple symptoms on clinical evaluation.rnHistory of previous episodes of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) was documented in 14rnwomen, of whom 6 showed positive IgG serology. The most frequent complaints atrnpresentation were: lower abdominal pain/tenderness (39%), vaginal discharge (32%) andrnvirnvaginal bleeding (18.5%). Positive serology to Chlamydiarntrachomatis IgG antibodies was identified in 14.1% and 16.8% of all women with vaginalrndischarge and lower abdominal pain, respectively. Thirty-five percent of the study subjectsrnclaimed to have had 2 or more sexual partners. Forty-nine percent of the women had theirrnfirst sexual intercourse at an age of 12 – 16 years, of whom 23.4.8% had positive IgGrnserology.rnThis study has highlighted high prevalence of antibodies to genital Chlamydiarntrachomatis and high frequency of behavioral and reproductive risk factors among the studyrnparticipants. Health care providers should be aware of the high prevalence of Chlamydialrninfection in women. Similar population-based studies of chlamydia prevalence should bernconducted in different communities to elucidate the actual burden of the problem in Ethiopiarnand design intervention strategies.

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