Latent chlamydial infections: The probable cause of a wide spectrum of human diseases

In the decade from 1980 to 1990, anamnestic data were amassed from 746 animal breeders on 31 farms, suffering from similar health problems and at the same time, 146 people from various professions outside agriculture were chosen as a control sample. A randomly selected group of 20 people from the 746 animal breeders were serologically tested for a wide range of infectious diseases (mycoplasmosis, tularaemia, leptospirosis, boreliosis, toxoplasmosis, listeriosis, and others). The analyses of these tests showed comparable figures in the majority of the tested people only in their serological response to chlamydial infection. Then, another randomly selected group of 157 people were serologically tested specifically for chlamydial infection. In 96% of these people a serological chlamydial response to a general chlamydial antigen and Chlamydia trachomatis antigen were diagnosed.

Over the following eight years, these people were under medical observation and from one to four times a year they were serologically tested for various chlamydial antigens.

After 12 years of intensive research, analyses and consultations with experts in both human and veterinary medicine, the findings of the research showed that the cause of a number of health problems and diseases could be identified in latent chlamydial infection. These findings were published in veterinary journals in the Czech Republic and Germany in 1992 [Von Bazala E, Renda J. Latente Chlamydieninfektionen als Ursache von Gesundheitsstörungen bei Schweine-, Rinder- und Schafzüchtern in der ČSFR. Berl. Münch. Tierärztl. Wschr. 1992;105(145–149) 105. Heft 5. 1. Mai 1992]. Due to persistent and deteriorating health problems in a majority of the examined people, the research efforts were continued and similar symptoms were consequently discovered in people from urban, non-animal breeding communities, of whom most of the long-term afflicted were also in many cases tested Chlamydia seropositive.