High prevalence of sexual Chlamydia trachomatis infection in young women from Maraj? Island, in the Brazilian Amazon

The present study was fully supported by grants from the Fundac??o Amazo?nia Paraense de Amparo a Pesquisa (FAPESPA ? ICAAF 014/2012) and Ministe?rio da Sau?de do Brasil (MS). Universidade Federal do Par?. N?cleo de Medicina Tropical. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular e Celular. Bel?m, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Par?. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em Doen?as Tropicais. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. N?cleo de Medicina Tropical. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular e Celular. Bel?m, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Par?. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em An?lises Cl?nicas. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. Instituto de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas. Laborat?rio de Citopatologia. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. Instituto de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas. Laborat?rio de Citopatologia. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Sergipe. Departamento de Ecologia. S?o Crist?v?o, SE, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. Programa de P?s-gradua??o em An?lises Cl?nicas. Bel?m, PA, Brasil / Universidade Federal do Par?. Instituto de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas. Laborat?rio de Citopatologia. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. N?cleo de Medicina Tropical. Laborat?rio de Imunopatologia. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Minist?rio da Sa?de. Secretaria de Vigil?ncia em Sa?de. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. N?cleo de Medicina Tropical. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular e Celular. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. Instituto de Ci?ncias Biol?gicas. Laborat?rio de Virologia. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. Universidade Federal do Par?. N?cleo de Medicina Tropical. Laborat?rio de Biologia Molecular e Celular. Bel?m, PA, Brasil. BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. Approximately 80% of infected women are asymptomatic, although this infection can lead to serious complications in the female reproductive tract. Few data on Chlamydia infection are available in rural Amazonian communities. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of sexual C. trachomatis infection in women from Maraj? Archipelago communities in the Amazon region of Brazil and to identify associated factors and genotypes. METHODS: We utilized amplification of the ompA gene by nested PCR. Positive samples were genotyped by sequencing. Study participants completed a questionnaire on social, epidemiological, and reproductive health variables. A Poisson regression was used to evaluate the degree of association of these variables with the infection. RESULTS: The sexual infection by C. trachomatis was observed in 4% (16/393) of the subjects, and was more often found in women aged ?25 (14.3%; 95% CI = 2.83-35.47; p