Evaluation of the APTIMA Combo 2™ kit for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in frozen semen

Thibaut Lutz; Robin Chautard; Maxime Lafontaine; Merve Genc; Arabella Touati; Sabine Pereyre; Olivia Peuchant; Cécile Bébéar; Fabien Garnier; Sébastien Hantz

doi:10.1007/s10096-025-05138-0

Evaluation of the APTIMA Combo 2™ kit for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in frozen semen

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2025 Apr 30. doi: 10.1007/s10096-025-05138-0. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Reproductive Biology Department, CHU Limoges, Limoges, France.
² Bacteriology Department, National Reference Center for Bacterial STIs, CHU Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
³ Bacteriology-Virology-Hygiene Department, CHU Limoges, Limoges, France.
⁴ Bacteriology-Virology-Hygiene Department, CHU Limoges, Limoges, France. sebastien.hantz@chu-limoges.fr.

PMID: 40304894
DOI: 10.1007/s10096-025-05138-0

Abstract

Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in cryopreserved semen is crucial for screening sperm donors. The evaluation of the limit of detection (LOD) of the APTIMA Combo 2™ kit (Panther, Hologic) was performed on cryopreserved semen samples spiked with CT and NG at concentrations ranging from 1 to 106 IFU/mL or CFU/mL, respectively. The LOD was 102 IFU/mL for CT and 10 CFU/mL for NG in single infection or coinfection. An inhibitory effect of semen on amplification was highlighted. This study confirmed the performance of the APTIMA Combo 2™ kit for screening cryopreserved sperm samples before donation.

Keywords: Chlamydia trachomatis; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Cryopreserved semen; NAAT.