Urinary chlamydia and Urinary Gonorrhea
Sexually transmitted infections caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and
Neisseria
gonorrhoeae may lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic
pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain in women. They are also
associated with increased risk of HIV
transmission. Pregnant women may
transmit infection to their newborn causing serious medical complications. At
present there are no reliable estimates on the prevalence of chlamydial and
gonococcal infections in the general population of the United States.
NHANES offers an opportunity to assess the prevalence of chlamydial and
gonococcal
infection in the general population and to monitor trends in
prevalence as prevention
programs are established and expanded.
Participants aged 14 to 39 years are tested. The public data file includes data for persons 18-39 years of age. Please see Analytic Notes about the availability of data for adolescents 14-17 years of age.
Data Collection Methods
Urine specimens are processed, stored, and shipped to the Division of STD Prevention Laboratory, National Centers for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA for analysis.
Examination Protocol
Detailed specimen collection and processing instructions are discussed in the
NHANES
Laboratory/Medical Technologists Procedures Manual (LPM). Vials were
stored under
appropriate frozen (minus 20 degrees Centigrade) conditions
until they were shipped to the National Center for Infectious for testing.
Analytic Methodology
Urinary chlamydia
The Chlamydia trachomatis assay uses LCR TM (ligase chain reaction)
amplification
technology in the LCx Probe System for the direct, qualitative
detection of plasmid DNA
of Chlamydia trachomatis.
The LCx Chlamydia trachomatis assay uses the nucleic acid amplication method
LCR
to detect the presence of C. trachomatis plasmid DNA directly in
clinical specimens.
The four oligonucleotide probes in the LCx assay
recognize and hybridize to a specific
target sequence within the C.
trachomatis plasmid DNA. The oligonuleotides are
designed to be
complementary to the target sequence so that in the presence of target,
the
probes will bind adjacent to one another. They can then be enzymatically joined
to
form the amplification product, which subsequently serves as an
additional target
sequence during further rounds of amplication. The product
of the LCR reaction is
detected on the Abbott LCx analyzer.
Urinary gonorrhea
The Neisseria gonorrhoeae assay uses LCR TM (ligase chain reaction)
amplification
technology in the LCx Probe System for the direct, qualitative
detection of a specific
target nucleic acid sequence in the Opa gene of
Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
The LCx Neisseria gonorrhoeae assay uses the nucleic acid amplication method
LCR to
detect the presence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The four
oligonucleotide probes in the
LCx assay recognize and hybridize to a
specific target sequence within the Opa gene of
Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA.
The oligonuleotides are designed to be complementary to the target sequence so
that in the presence of target, the probes will bind adjacent to one another.
They can then be enzymatically joined to form the amplification product, which
subsequently serves as an additional target sequence during further rounds of
amplication. The product of the LCR reaction is detected on the Abbott LCx
analyzer.
The public release data file includes urinary chlamydia and gonorrhea data for participants aged 18–39. Data for youth aged 14–17 years are available through the NCHS Research Data Center (RDC).
| Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Positive | 47 | 47 | |
| 2 | Negative | 1056 | 1103 | |
| 3 | Indeterminate | 0 | 1103 | |
| . | Missing | 38 | 1141 |
| Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Positive | 12 | 12 | |
| 2 | Negative | 1091 | 1103 | |
| 3 | Indeterminate | 0 | 1103 | |
| . | Missing | 38 | 1141 |