Antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis in cervicovaginal secretions: relation to serum antibodies and current chlamydial infection.

Concentrated cervicovaginal washings obtained from women attending a venereal disease clinic were tested for Chlamydia-specific immunoglobulins by means of a single-antigen, indirect immunofluorescence technique. Chlamydial antibodies (IgA and/or IgG) were present in washings from 22 (42%) of 52 patients tested. These Chlamydia-specific antibodies were significantly (P less than 0.001) associated with Chlamydia-specific antibodies in serum, which suggests that the former antibodies may have been derived from the serum rather than synthesized in the cervix. The association between chlamydial antibodies in cervicovaginal washings and isolation of Chlamydia from the cervix was much weaker. These results indicate that the diagnostic value of detection of Chlamydia-specific antibodies in sera and in cervical secretions is questionable.