1. Prevalence of five treatable sexually transmitted infections among women in Lower River region of The Gambia.
- Author
-
Butcher R, Jarju S, Obayemi D, Bashorun AO, Vasileva H, Bransbury-Hare H, Agboghoroma O, Drammeh L, Holland M, Harding-Esch E, and Clarke E
- Subjects
- Female, Humans, Chlamydia trachomatis genetics, Gambia epidemiology, Neisseria gonorrhoeae genetics, Prevalence, Rivers, Adolescent, Young Adult, Adult, Middle Aged, Aged, Chlamydia Infections epidemiology, Gonorrhea epidemiology, Mycoplasma genitalium genetics, Mycoplasma Infections epidemiology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases epidemiology
- Abstract
Background: The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in sub-Saharan Africa is poorly described. We aimed to determine the prevalence of five treatable STIs (Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Treponema pallidum) in a sample of Gambian women from the general population., Methods: Archived specimens from 420 women aged 15 - 69 years living in The Gambia enrolled in a clinical trial of human papilloma virus vaccine schedules were tested in this study. Urine samples were tested for C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, T. vaginalis and M. genitalium using a commercially available, open-platform multiplex PCR kit. A fragment of the ompA gene was amplified from C. trachomatis-positive samples and sequenced. Serum samples were tested for T. pallidum using the Chembio DPP Syphilis Screen and Confirm test., Results: Overall, 41/420 (9.8%) women tested positive for at least one STI. 32 (7.6%), 9 (2.1%), 1 (0.2%), 1 (0.2%) and 0 (0.0%) tested positive for T. vaginalis, C. trachomatis, N gonorrhoeae, M. genitalium and T. pallidum, respectively. ompA gene sequence was available from five C. trachomatis infections: four were genovar D,one was genovar G and one was genovar F., Conclusions: STIs are endemic in The Gambia. Monitoring systems should be established., (© 2023. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF