Neonatal chlamydial eye infection: an epidemiological and clinical study.

Neonatal chlamydial eye infection was detected in 39 cases of 281 infants with purulent conjunctivitis seen at the Department of Ophthalmology. Most cases of neonatal chlamydial eye infection (90%) were detected during the first month of life, and no case was found after 2 months of age. C. trachomatis was not isolated from any of 161 healthy control infants at 3-4 weeks of age. Genital chlamydial infection was demonstrated in 50% of the mothers to infected infants. Two of these women developed post-partum complications possibly due to chlamydial infection. Mothers of infected infants tended to be younger than average. Of 23 cases examined 2 years later, late sequelae were identified in 3.