Rick is 20 years old and lives an active lifestyle in the city. On the weekends, he enjoys attending dance clubs and meeting women who he hopes he can bring back to his apartment when the club closes

Question

After a series of these anonymous sexual encounters, he began to experience some mild discomfort while urinating. He ignored the problem at first, but knew something was wrong when a thin urethral discharge became noticeable. One day after work, he went to a family planning center where swab of his urethra revealed the presence of C. trachomatis. He was prescribed antibiotics and was told to abstain from sexual intercourse until his treatment had been completed and he was clear of the infection

What are the differences between chlamydial elementary bodies and reticulate bodies? What feature of the reticulate bodies makes them different from other forms of bacteria?

If Rick were to present with mucocutaneous lesions on his feet, what complication might you suspect? What are the other symptoms associated with this condition?

How does C. trachomatis contribute to infertility in both men and women?

If one of Rick's infected women were to have a child, what effect, if any, would this have on the neonate?

Answer 1

Chlamydiae are seen as elementary bodies or reticulate bodies. Elementary bodies are the invasive particles that attach to and enter the host cell. Once inside the host cell, they organize into reticulate bodies. These reticulate bodies are the metabolically active components of the disease, undergoing binary fission and condensation to produce new elementary bodies. After the host cell undergoes lysis, the newly formed elementary bodies are released for further host cell invasion.
Reticulate bodies, although equipped with RNA and DNA, are unlike other bacteria in that they require a host cell for replication. They are unable, therefore, to survive outside of the body.

Reiter syndrome may develop as a complication of chlamydia. The syndrome is an autoimmune arthritic condition that also includes urethritis, conjunctivitis, and papulosquamous eruptions that occur on the feet and hands.

In men, infection with C. trachomatis may cause infertility if epididymitis and prostatitis are present. In women, persistent fallopian tube damage and pelvic inflammatory disease may cause infertility.

Cervical chlamydia is passed from the mother to the neonate during delivery. Neonatal complications include a variety of ocular diseases and the development of chlamydial pneumonitis. In underdeveloped countries, chlamydia is a leading cause of childhood blindness.