BACKGROUND

Infection caused by C. trachomatis is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. However, the bacterial load of the causative agent is often not taken into account in clinical features of the disease assessment and therapy administration.

OBJECTIVE

To study bacterial load in patients with uncomplicated urogenital chlamydia infection and its correlation with the type of the disease clinical course.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study subject is 497 patients with uncomplicated urogenital chlamydia infection, including 398 men and 99 women, who were under the medical supervision in MSPCDC (Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology) in 2021. The research material is scrapes/discharge from the mucous membrane of urogenital tract organs of patients. The research method is real-time PCR with determination of C. trachomatis bacterial load. Bacterial load was considered relatively low at C. trachomatis DNA concentration of 10⁴ GE/ml and less, relatively high at C. trachomatis DNA concentration more than 10⁴ GE/ml.

RESULTS

Patients with low bacterial load of C. trachomatis (62.8%), both in men (60.3%) and women (72.8%), prevailed among patients with urogenital chlamydia infection. There is a significant direct correlation between bacterial load’s rate of C. trachomatis and presence of disease clinical signs (dysuria, excretion from the reproductive tract, etc.) among male patients (ξ² =42.39; OR 7.34; p<0.001) and in the general group of patients, where men dominated (ξ²=28.93; OR 4.97; p<0.001). Comparable correlation among women wasn’t revealed.

CONCLUSION

The bacterial load of C. trachomatis in the urogenital tract of patients may affect the chlamydia clinical course in male subjects. Women with either low or especially high bacterial load and asymptomatic disease course are reservoirs of infection and contribute to its spread.