Chlamydia and Reiter's Syndrome

The role of Chlamydia trachomatis in Reiter's syndrome (RS) is reviewed. Chlamydia is an obligate, intracellular parasite which can be isolated from urethral smears in 36% of patients with RS. Two separate surveys carried out on RS patients in France, in 1977-78 and in 1982-83 showed that antibodies to C. trachomatis could be detected by a microimmunofluorescence test in 55% and 64% of subjects, respectively, and this is significantly higher than the levels found in rheumatoid or healthy controls. Further studies are indicated to evaluate the role of Chlamydia in RS.