Author(s):
Borges, Vitor ; Cordeiro, Dora ; Salas, Ana Isabel ; Lodhia, Zohra ; Correia, Cristina ; Isidro, Joana ; Fernandes, Cândida ; Rodrigues, Ana ; Azevedo, Jacinta ; Alves, João ; Rôxo, João ; Rocha, Miguel ; Corte-Real, Rita ; Vieira, Luís ; Borrego, Maria José ; Gomes, João Paulo
Date: 2019
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/7195
Origin: Repositório Científico do Instituto Nacional de Saúde
Subject(s): Chlamydia trachomatis;; Inter-clade Exchange; Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV); ompA; Outbreak; Recombination; Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis
Description
Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterium worldwide and the causative agent of trachoma. Its strains are classified according to their ompA genotypes, which are strongly linked to differential tissue tropism and disease outcomes [ocular disease, urogenital disease and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)]. While the genome-based species phylogenetic tree presents four main clades correlating with tropism/prevalence, namely ocular, LGV, urogenital T1 (more prevalent genotypes) and urogenital T2 (less prevalent genotypes), inter-clade exchange of ompA is considered a rare phenomenon probably mediating marked tropism alterations. An LGV epidemic, associated with the clonal expansion of the L2b genotype, has emerged in the last few decades, raising concerns particularly due to its atypical clinical presentation (ulcerative proctitis) and circulation among men who have sex with men (MSM).
