Johns Hopkins HIV Guide →Pathogens →Bacteria

Chlamydia trachomatis

Annie Antar, M.D., Emily J Erbelding, M.D., M.P.H.
Chlamydia trachomatis is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins HIV Guide.

To view the entire topic, please or purchase a subscription.

Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:

Johns Hopkins Guides

-- The first section of this topic is shown below --

MICROBIOLOGY

  • The many serovars of C. trachomatis can generally be divided into the trachoma biovar (serovars A - K) causing genital tract disease, conjunctivitis, and trachoma (inflammation of inner eyelids) and the LGV biovar (serovars L1 - L3) causing lymphogranuloma venereum and proctocolitis.
  • Obligate intracellular bacteria, infecting primarily ocular and genitourinary epithelium; one of the smallest known bacterial genomes.
  • All Chlamydia species have 2 distinct forms in their infectious cycle: elementary body (EB - infectious, extracellular sporelike form) and reticulate body (RB - intracellular, replicating form).
  • Requires cell culture for propagation.
  • Immunity is not long-lived.

-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please or purchase a subscription --

Last updated: August 2, 2017