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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 78(3), 2008, pp. 514-517
Copyright © 2008 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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The Molecular Epidemiology of Ocular Chlamydia trachomatis Infections in Western Australia: Implications for Trachoma Control

Michelle Porter, Donna Mak, Glenys Chidlow, Gerald B. Harnett, AND David W. Smith*
Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia; Communicable Disease Control Directorate, Health Department of Western Australia, Shenton Park, Western Australia, Australia; School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia; Centre for International Health, and Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Microbiology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia

We studied the serovar distribution of Chlamydia trachomatis in patients with clinical eye disease in Western Australia. Most disease occurred in indigenous communities and was caused by trachoma serovars Ba and C. Serovar Ba was genetically homogeneous throughout Western Australia and identical to strains previously described in indigenous communities in Northern Territory. This finding probably results from movement of these populations, and suggests that a widely coordinated, rather than local or regional, approach is needed to control trachoma in mobile populations. Serovar C strains within Western Australia were homogeneous but distinct from those in Northern Territory, possibly because of inherent differences in transmissibility or differences in population movements among communities carrying the different serovars. Genital serovars were occasional causes of eye diseases in infants, adolescents, and adults in trachoma-endemic areas. These serovars should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute follicular conjunctivitis in these groups.

Received June 14, 2007. Accepted for publication November 14, 2007.

Acknowledgments: We thank the staff of the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at PathWest for carrying out diagnostic testing, identifying samples, and assisting with sequencing.

* Address correspondence to David W. Smith, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Locked Bag 2009, Nedlands, Western Australia 6909, Australia. E-mail: david.smith{at}health.wa.gov.

Authors’ addresses: Michelle Porter, Glenys Chidlow, Gerald B. Harnett, and David W. Smith, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Locked Bag 2009 Nedlands, Western Australia 6909 Australia, E-mails: michelle.porter{at}health.wa.gov.au, glenys.chidlow{at}health.wa.gov.au, gerry.harnett{at}health.wa.gov.au, and david.smith{at}health.wa.gov.au. Donna Mak, Communicable Disease Control, Grace Vaughan House, 227 Stubbs Terrace, Shenton Park, Western Australia 6008, Australia, E-mail: donna.mak{at}health.wa.gov.au.






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Copyright © 2008 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.