What is "chlamydia trachomatis"

Trachoma \Tra*cho"ma\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? roughness, fr. ? rough.] (Med.) a contagious granular conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is a chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva -- Tra*chom"a*tous, a.

Chlamydia trachomatis , also known as Chlamydiais one of four bacterial species in the genus Chlamydia. Chlamydia is a genus of pathogenic bacteria that are obligate intracellular parasites. C. trachomatis is a gram-negative bacterium. It is ovoid in shape and non-motile. The bacteria are non- spore-forming, but the elementary bodies act like spores when released into the host. The inclusion bodies of Chlamydia trachomatis were first described in 1942. Chlamydia trachomatis agent was first cultured in the yolk sacs of eggs by Professor Tang Fei-fan et al in 1957.

Disorders caused by Chlamydia trachomatis include chlamydia, trachoma, lymphogranuloma venereum, nongonococcal urethritis, cervicitis, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and pneumonia.

C. trachomatis includes three human biovars:

• Serovars Ab, B, Ba, or C — cause trachoma: infection of the eyes, which can lead to blindness
• Serovars D-K — cause urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, neonatal pneumonia, and neonatal conjunctivitis
• Serovars L1, L2 and L3 — lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV).

Many, but not all, C. trachomatis strains have an extrachromosomal plasmid.

Chlamydia can exchange DNA between its different strains, thus the evolution of new strains is common.