How can one isolate Chlamydia trachomatis from a urine sample?

Chlamydia are tiny gram negative bacteria; they are
notoriously difficult to culture because, like viruses,  they are dependent on a host
cell for energy. Chlamydia swabs from mucous membranes are inoculated into a host cell
culture for growth. The cell line is incubated for 48-72 hours, and then stained and
examined for evidence of chlamydia. The issue here is that urine is toxic to the host
cell lines; hence urethral swab collection is preferred to urine collection if chlamydia
is suspected.

An interesting side note is that chlamydia
have a toxic reaction to something in wood, so using wooden handled swabs can cause a
false negative reading. Plastic handled swabs with untreated polyester heads need to be
used.

In the modern lab setting, a urine sample would
typically be handled using a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test or a rapid immunoassay
test. The RIT is preferred because it is very fast, has high reliability, and works very
well on urine specimens.