C. trachomatis and
N. gonorrhoeae are the common prevalent sexually transmitted bacteria capable of infecting men, women and neonates worldwide, especially in developing nations [
1,
2]. The estimated global prevalence in 2012 was 131 million cases of
C. trachomatis and 78 million cases of
N. gonorrhoeae in adults between the age of 15 and 49 years [
2]. The annual estimation indicates different rates of infection in various parts of the world, ranging between 1.9–30.6% in pregnant women [
2] and 1.6–18% in the neonates [
3,
4] for
C. trachomatis and for
N. gonorrhoeae 0.08–7% [
2] and 0.06–0.4% [
3,
5], respectively. In Iran, the results of a meta-analysis showed that the pooled prevalence rates of
C. trachomatis in males and females were 10.9% (95% CI, range: 7.6–15.4%) and 12.3% (95% CI, range: 10.6–14.2%), respectively [
6]. Also, studies reported that prevalence of
C. trachomatis in pregnant women was 2.2% to 14.79% [
7‐
9]. As for
N. gonorrhoeae, studies in Iran showed that its prevalence is 0 to 2.4% in people at low risk without symptoms [
10]. One study on pregnant women revealed that 1.18% samples were positive for
N. gonorrhoeae by PCR [
11]. Infection with these organisms can cause a range of serious problems in mothers and newborns and can be asymptomatic in a significant proportion of the affected individuals [
12,
13].
C. trachomatis is the most frequent infectious agent accounting for 18% to 50% of all neonatal conjunctivitis and 3% to 20% of infantile pneumonia [
14,
15]. About half of the neonates born from infected mothers with
N. gonorrhoeae will develop neonatal conjunctivitis [
16]. Untreated gonococcal conjunctivitis may lead to corneal scarring and blindness, whereas the risk of severe ocular damage is low with chlamydial infection which can cause purulent mucous, edema on the eyelids, papillary conjunctivitis, and the formation of pseudomembranes [
16]. The transmission of these two organisms is usually through direct contact of the neonates with infected vagina at the time of delivery during vaginal birth but rarely occurs during Caesarean section [
17].
Prenatal screening and treatment of pregnant women are highly recommended, but in Iran, the routine prenatal and prophylactic care to prevent these diseases in newborns is lacking, unlike some other countries in the developing world. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in pregnant women admitted to the hospitals before delivery and respective vertical transmission rates to the neonates, using PCR method.