Chlamydia trachomatis infection in African American women who exclusively have sex with women.

Abstract

Little is known about whether Chlamydia trachomatis can be sexually transmitted between women or how often it occurs in women who have sex with women (WSW). We investigated Chlamydia trachomatis prevalence and serum Chlamydia trachomatis-specific antibody responses among African American WSW who reported a lifetime history of sex only with women (exclusive WSW) (n = 21) vs. an age-matched group of women reporting sex with women and men (WSWM) (n = 42). Participants completed a survey, underwent a pelvic examination in which a cervical swab was collected for Chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT), and had serum tested for anti-Chlamydia trachomatis IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies using a Chlamydia trachomatis elementary body-based ELISA. No exclusive WSW had a positive Chlamydia trachomatis NAAT vs. 5 (11.9%) WSWM having a positive Chlamydia trachomatis NAAT (p = 0.16). Compared with WSWM, WSW were significantly less likely to be Chlamydia trachomatis seropositive (7 [33.3%] vs. 29 [69%], p = 0.007). Among Chlamydia trachomatis seropositive women, all were seropositive by IgG1, and the magnitude of Chlamydia trachomatis-specific IgG1 responses did not differ in Chlamydia trachomatis-seropositive WSW vs. WSWM. In conclusion, Chlamydia trachomatis seropositivity was relatively common in exclusive African American WSW, though significantly less common than in African American WSWM.