Seroprevalence of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection in Women with Bad Obstetric History and Infertility

Chlamydia trachomatis has currently emerged as the most common sexually transmitted pathogen. It is usually asymptomatic and is difficult to diagnose clinically. It is one of the causes for bad Obstetric History (BOH) and infertility. Women at highest risk often have the least access to health care facilities. Therefore there is a need for a rapid, simple, inexpensive and non-invasive test to detect C. trachomatis infection. Serological testing forms the mainstay of diagnosing the disease and to treat BOH and infertility. Hence the present study was conducted. Enzyme linked immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used for detection of IgG antibodies against C. trachomatis. Out of 260 cases, 130 had history of BOH, 80 had history of infertility and 50 healthy pregnant women (HPW) were used as controls. The seropositivity of C. trachomatis in the study was 25.4% (66). Out of 130 cases of BOH, seropositivity was 27.7% (36). Out of 80 cases of infertility, seropositivity was 35% (28) and out of 50 cases of HPW seropositivity was 4% (2). In BOH cases, women with history of two abortions showed seropositivity of 7.3% and women with history of three or more abortions showed seropositivity of 62.5%. Hence, seropositivity of C. trachomatis infection was found to be significant among women with BOH and infertility as compared to HPW.