The report is published in the November issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility. Chlamydia trachomatis, a bacterial infection that is often symptomless, is a leading cause of female infertility.
Infection triggers a scarring of the fallopian tubes that results in infertility.
Experts have always assumed that this scarring may be a cause of many ectopic pregnancies. Most, but not all, of these extrauterine pregnancies occur when the fertilized egg fails to progress to the uterus, implanting instead within the fallopian tube. If left undiagnosed and untreated, fallopian ectopic pregnancies can lead to potentially life-threatening tube rupture and hemorrhage. In their study, the researchers used sophisticated DNA tests to assess the presence of chlamydia in the fallopian tubes of 10 women with a history of ectopic pregnancy. They also point out that while some of the tubes sampled revealed a large degree of chlamydia-associated inflammation, others did not.