Ngeow Y F
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1996 Mar;25(2):300-4.
Infection with Chlamydia trachomatis results in the formation of a variety of antibodies with group, species, subspecies and serovarspecificity. Sera from patients with genital tract infections often show broad reactivity in serological tests. This may be due to the presence of cross-reacting antibodies, repeated infections by different serotypes or concurrent genital and respiratory infections by different chlamydial species. Other factors contributing to difficulties in interpretation include how antibody titres in acute mucosal infections, the occurrence of latent infections and reactivations, and the persistence of IgG which does not allow the differentiation of past from current infections. For these reasons, serology alone is inadequate for the diagnosis of uncomplicated lower genital tract infections. In upper genital tract infections, however, because of difficulties with sampling from the infected site, a positive serology may be the only indications of chlamydial involvement. This paper discusses the principles of chlamydial antibody assays, difficulties with their interpretation and their role in the diagnosis of upper and lower genital tract infections.
沙眼衣原体感染会导致形成具有群、种、亚种和血清型特异性的多种抗体。生殖道感染患者的血清在血清学检测中常显示出广泛的反应性。这可能是由于存在交叉反应抗体、不同血清型的重复感染或不同衣原体种类同时引起的生殖道和呼吸道感染。其他导致解释困难的因素包括急性黏膜感染中的抗体滴度、潜伏感染和再激活的发生，以及IgG的持续存在，这使得无法区分既往感染和当前感染。由于这些原因，仅靠血清学不足以诊断单纯性下生殖道感染。然而，在上生殖道感染中，由于从感染部位取样困难，血清学阳性可能是衣原体感染的唯一指征。本文讨论了衣原体抗体检测的原理、解释这些检测结果的困难及其在上、下生殖道感染诊断中的作用。
