Chlamydial infections in paediatrics.

Diseases caused by Chlamydia trachomatis are diverse, ranging from trachoma, the commonest infectious cause of blindness, to many cases of nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Recently, there has been a greater appreciation of the role of C. trachomatis in other diseases, for example salpingitis, epididymitis, and particularly in paediatric infections. The association of C. trachomatis with nongonococcal ophthalmia has been known for nearly 70 years. In 1884, Kroner' postulated that abacterial ophthalmia neonatorum was due to an unknown agent acquired at birth from the genital tract of the mother. By 1911, only 4 years after the first description of an aetiological agent for trachoma, the early pioneers had established a firm link between trachoma, NGU, and abacterial ophthalmia neonatorum (inclusion blennorrhoea). Lindner2 had postulated that inclusion blennorrhoea was usually due to the trachoma agent. Detailed studies on the role of C. trachomatis in neonatal eye disease awaited the development of techniques for the isolation of the organism. The first successful isolation of C. trachomatis by T'ang et al.3 using the yolk sac of embryonated eggs was soon followed by the isola- tion of chlamydiae from the eyes of a baby with inclusion blennorrhoea, and from the cervix of its