Volume 13, Number 8—August 2007
Dispatch
Waddlia chondrophila, a Potential Agent of Human Fetal Death
David Baud*†, Vincent Thomas*, Aliaa Arafa†, Lesley Regan†, and Gilbert Greub*
Table 1
Characteristics of study patients according to miscarriage history*
| Characteristics | Controls (n = 169), no. (%) | Sporadic miscarriages (n = 69), no. (%, p value†) | Recurrent miscarriages (n = 200), no. (%, p value†) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | |||||
| Median (IQR, p value†) | 30.4 (25–35) | 31.7 (27–36, 0.18) | 35.4 (31–39, <0.001) | ||
| No. pregnancies | |||||
| 1 | 90 (53.3) | 32 (46.4) | 0 | ||
| 2 | 46 (27.2) | 19 (27.5, 0.67‡) | 0 (0, <0.001‡) | ||
| >2 | 33 (19.5) | 18 (26.1) | 200 (100) | ||
| Mean (SD, p value†) |
1.8 (1.1) |
2.1 (1.5, 0.23) |
5.2 (3, <0.001) |
||
| Parity | |||||
| 0 | 0 (0) | 49 (71) | 113 (56.5) | ||
| 1 | 115 (68.1) | 11 (15.9, <0.001‡) | 59 (29.5, <0.001‡) | ||
| 2 | 31 (18.3) | 4 (5.8) | 19 (9.5) | ||
| >2 | 23 (13.6) | 5 (7.3) | 9 (4.5) | ||
| Mean (SD, p value†) |
1.54 (0.95) |
0.52 (1.01, <0.001) |
0.64 (0.9, <0.001) |
||
| Miscarriages | |||||
| Early (<12 weeks) | 0 | 52 (75.4, <0.001) | 196 (98, <0.001) | ||
| Late (>12 weeks) | 0 | 13 (18.9, <0.001) | 51 (25.5, <0.001) | ||
| Stillbirth (>24 weeks) | 0 | 4 (5.8, <0.001) | 11 (5.5, 0.002) | ||
| Alive child |
169 (100) |
21 (30.4, <0.001) |
78 (39, <0.001) |
||
| Ethnicity | |||||
| White | 80 (47.3) | 34 (49.3, 0.79) | 132 (66, <0.001) | ||
| Black | 35 (20.7) | 10 (14.5, 0.27) | 22 (11, 0.01) | ||
| Asian | 31 (18.3) | 18 (26.1, 0.18) | 34 (17, 0.74) | ||
| Other |
22 (13) |
6 (8.7, 0.35) |
8 (4, 0.002) |
||
| Contact with animals | 29 (17.2) | 11 (15.9, 0.82) | 70 (35, <0.001) | ||
| Cat | 18 (10.7) | 5 (7.3, 0.42) | 37 (18.5, 0.035) | ||
| Dog | 15 (8.9) | 6 (8.7, 0.97) | 28 (14, 0.13) | ||
| Fish | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0, 1) | 8 (4, 0.043) | ||
| Rodents | 0 | 2 (2.9, 0.08) | 7 (3.5, 0.017) | ||
| Other |
3 (1.8) |
0 (0, 0.63) |
12 (6, 0.041) |
||
| Chlamydia trachomatis (IgG titer>50) | 15 (8.9) | 9 (13, 0.33) | 39 (19.5, 0.004) | ||
| Positive serology for Waddlia spp. | |||||
| IgG titer >64 | 12 (7.1) | 22 (31.9, <0.001) | 66 (33, <0.001) | ||
| IgG titer >128 | 6 (3.6) | 10 (14.5, 0.002) | 29 (14.5, <0.001) | ||
| Western blot Waddlia IgG | |||||
| <1 band | 12 (7.1) | 22 (31.9, <0.001) | 63 (31.5, <0.001) | ||
| <2 bands | 6 (3.6) | 15 (21.7, <0.001) | 51 (25.5, <0.001) | ||
| <3 bands | 3 (1.8) | 9 (13, <0.001) | 28 (14, <0.001) | ||
| <2 specific bands§ | 1 (0.6) | 9 (13, <0.001) | 22 (11, <0.001) | ||
*Controls, women with uneventful pregnancies; IQR, interquartile range.
†Compared with control group.
‡p value for ordered categories (Pearson χ2 test).
§According to Waddlia hyperimmune mouse serum, bands at 61-, 55-, 53-, 45-, 41-, 38-, and 30-kDa are considered specific for Waddlia spp.
