Objective: To estimate the prevalence of ocular infection by Chlamydia trachomatis in conjuctival material, from january 2004 to june 2007 at Genetic and Molecular Biology Laboratory from Florianópolis Metropolitan area, SC. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study involving all cases of conjunctivitis using the database of Genetic and Molecular biology Laboratory (DNAanálises) recorded in the period from january 2004 to june 2007 was carried out. The positivity to C. trachomatis in conjunctival material was observed. Results: A total of 660 exams to the detection of C. trachomatis in ocular samples were observed 359 (54,4%) positive cases which the most part of them were from female patients (66,3%). The majority of the cases were observed at the female group (66.3%). The highest prevalence was between one to 15 years old in both sex groups, being 55.8% in the male and 62.5% in the female group. We observed an increased number of cases between january and june of 2006 representing 79.2% of the total positive cases. Conclusion: There was an increased number of conjunctivitis at Florianópolis Metropolitan area at the year of 2006, caused by Chlamydia trachomatis detected at Genetic and Molecular Biology Laboratory. The great number of cases detected in the studied area suggests the need for strengthening epidemiological surveillance activities at the region to confirm clinically the increased prevalence of trachoma.
Tracoma; Conjunctivitis; Chlamydia trachomatis; Chlamydia infections; Conjunctivitis, inclusion
