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Introduction

The Netherlands has an enviable reputation for research in the fields of microbiology and infection. This is well illustrated by the papers presented in this supplement, which summarize a one-day symposium on chlamydiae and chlamydial infections, held in Amsterdam on December 17, 2004 at the Vrije University. Importantly for the future of the field, the well-attended symposium included papers by up-and-coming researchers as well as established scientists. Globally, chlamydial infections are regarded as the most common of bacterial sexually transmitted infections and are a major cause of infertility and ectopic pregnancy. Locally, Holland has recently been the focus of an unexpected outbreak of lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), an invasive form of chlamydial genital tract infection normally rare in Europe. The symposium was therefore particularly timely in bringing together scientists and health care workers from the region who are conducting research on the organism or are responsible for the delivery of health services. It was also the occasion to celebrate the collaboration between Dr. Servaas Morré of the VU University Medical Center and Joseph Lyons of the City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California. This culminated in a formal defence by Joseph Lyons of his doctoral thesis "An integrated approach to the study of Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the female urogenital tract," a condensed version of which is found in this supplement.