BACKGROUND: Chlamydia trachomatis
infection in pregnant women can lead to serious maternal/neonatal antenatal or postnatal complications. The aim of this study was to find out the quantum of this problem in antenatal cases of Command Hospital, Kolkata.
METHODS: Antibodies to
C. trachomatis by ELISA method were tested in sera of 24 pregnant women and 10 nonpregnant controls.
RESULTS: Five (20.83%) and 3 (12.5%) were positive and borderline positive for IgM and 1 (4.17%) and 2 (8.33%) were positive and borderline positive respectively for IgG antibodies i.e. an overall positivity of 45.83%. Only 1 (10%) of the controls was positive for IgA antibodies.
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of performing this simple blood test for detecting
C. trachomatis infection in antenatal cases, to treat the infected and prevent the complications.
