Journal of Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Screening results of 488 pregnant women aged 15-44 years whose blood samples had been tested on-site, using First Response® HIV 1/2, and confirmed with INNO-LIA™ HIV I/II Score were used. Of this total, 178 were reactive (HIV I, 154; HIV II, 2; and HIV I and HIV II, 22). Of the 154 HIV I-reactive samples, 104 were confirmed to be HIV I-positive and 2 were confirmed to be HIV II-positive, while 48 were confirmed to be negative [false positive rate = 17.44% (13.56-21.32)]. The two HIV II samples submitted were confirmed to be negative with the confirmatory test...

INTRODUCTION: Men who have transactional sex with men (MTSM) are known to be at higher risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This study explored the risk factors associated with STI symptoms and HIV prevalence among men who have transactional sex with men in Nigeria. METHODS: In 2014, a cross-sectional study, using respondent driven sampling technique, was carried out to recruit 3,172 MSM across eight states in Nigeria. Relevant information on sociodemographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, and self-reported symptoms of STI was obtained...

BACKGROUND: General practitioners (GPs) as a group have been identified as playing an important role in gonorrhoea management in Flanders. Belgian guidelines recommended ceftriaxone or alternatively spectinomycin from 2008 onwards and azithromycin combination therapy since 2012. OBJECTIVES: This study investigates to which extent contemporary gonorrhoea treatment guidelines were followed. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study (2009-2013) of antibiotic prescriptions for gonorrhoea cases registered in the Flemish Intego general practice database was carried out...

INTRODUCTION: HIV still causes high mortality despite use of ART. This study was designed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of mortality among HIV patients receiving ART in northwestern rural Tanzania. METHODS: A retrospective study of HIV patients on ART was done at Sengerema in Mwanza, Tanzania. The data on demography, date of HIV diagnosis, WHO stage, opportunistic infections, CD4, hemoglobin, ART regimen, and time and outcome on treatment as dead or alive were collected and analyzed using STATA version 11...

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) affects the reproductive health of both men and women worldwide. Condoms are important part of the available preventive strategies for STI control. The lack of proper risk-perception continues to impede women's ability to negotiate condom use with their partners. This paper is the outcome of secondary analysis of data collected in a cross-sectional survey that explored the perception of risk of STI and its influence on condom use among 504 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at two health facilities in the Kintampo North Municipality...

Objectives. To determine the confidence and ability to use condoms correctly and consistently and the predictors of confidence in young Australians attending a festival. Methods. 288 young people aged 18 to 29 attending a mixed-genre music festival completed a survey measuring demographics, self-reported confidence using condoms, ability to use condoms, and issues experienced when using condoms in the past 12 months. Results. Self-reported confidence using condoms was high (77%). Multivariate analyses showed confidence was associated with being male (P < 0...

Sexually transmitted infections remain to be of public health concern in many developing countries. Their control is important, considering the high incidence of acute infections, complications and sequelae, and their socioeconomic impact. This article discusses the new biomedical technologies and strategies for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Background. The Woman's Condom, a second-generation female condom designed for acceptability, is poised for introduction in China. Method. This single-arm study was conducted among 60 couples in China in 2010 to assess acceptability of the Woman's Condom. Results. Male participants reported that ease of handling, inserting, and removing the device improved significantly from first to fourth use. Female and male participants reported that comfort during insertion, feel of lubricant during insertion, comfort/fit of outer ring during use, and overall comfort improved significantly from first to fourth use...

Introduction. While four in ten female sex workers (FSWs) in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, only a small proportion is enrolled in HIV care. We explored facilitators and barriers to linkage to HIV care among FSWs receiving HIV testing services at a community-based organization in periurban Uganda. Methods. The cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted among 28 HIV positive FSWs from May to July 2014. Key informant interviews were conducted with five project staff and eleven peer educators. Data were collected on facilitators for and barriers to linkage to HIV care and manually analyzed following a thematic framework approach...

Background. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no published reports on the diagnostic performance of the Chlamydia Rapid Test (CRT) Device for male urine samples. We evaluated the performance of the CRT Device when compared with that of the BD ProbeTec ET PCR Assay in a population of asymptomatic men. Methods. The study enrolled 100 men between June and July 2015. From each consenting male, 20-30 mL of urine was collected. Sensitivity and specificity of the rapid test compared to PCR were calculated...

Background. The prevalence of syphilis among HIV-infected people is a public health concern, but there is limited literature to describe the true burden of syphilis in resource-limited settings. We conducted this survey in 2013 to estimate the prevalence of syphilis. Methods. A cross-sectional survey. Participants were tested for syphilis and HIV. Factors associated with syphilis infection were identified. Results. The prevalence of syphilis was 0.9% (95% CI: 0.7-1.1). This prevalence was higher in the 25-49-year-old age (1...

Background. Syphilis is curable but Herpes Simplex Virus-2 (HSV-2) is not. As a result, the prevalence of syphilis but not HSV-2 may be influenced by the efficacy of national STI screening and treatment capacity. If the prevalence of syphilis and HSV-2 is found to be correlated, then this makes it more likely that something other than differential STI treatment is responsible for variations in the prevalence of both HSV-2 and syphilis. Methods. Simple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between national antenatal syphilis prevalence and HSV-2 prevalence in women in two time periods: 1990-1999 and 2008...

Background. Limited information exists on adults ≥50 years receiving HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa despite their increasing number. We aimed at studying immunologic and clinical responses to ART in this population. Methods. Data of patients who initiated HAART between 30th of June 2004 and 1st of May 2008 at Sekou Toure Care and Treatment Clinic were retrospectively analyzed. Date of ART initiation was used as a baseline and 48 months as a follow-up date. Immune recovery was defined as a CD4 count of ≥350 cells/mm(3) at 48 months and late presentation as presentation with WHO stage 3 or 4 at clinic enrollment...

Background. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are the leading causes of morbidity among young adults. This study assessed the knowledge and practice of clinicians regarding syndromic management of STIs in public health facilities of Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. Facility based cross-sectional study with mixed methods of data collection was conducted in public health facilities of Gamo Gofa Zone. The study included 250 clinicians and 12 health facilities, 26 mystery clients were hired, and 120 STI patient cards were reviewed...

Oral cancer is one of the commonest causes for mortality and morbidity with squamous cell carcinoma being the sixth most frequent malignant tumour worldwide. In addition to tobacco and alcohol, human papilloma virus (HPV) is associated with a proportion of head and neck cancers. As in cervical cancers, HPV types 16 and 18 are the cause of malignant transformation. HPV-positive cancers of head and neck have unique characteristics such as occurrence in a younger age group, distinct clinical and molecular features, and better prognosis as compared to HPV-negative carcinomas...

Vaginitis is one of the commonest reproductive tract infections in sexually active women. In the present study clinicoetiological characterization of infectious vaginitis amongst 380 women of reproductive age group (18-45 years) was done. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) was detected by Nugent's scoring, Candida infection by culture, and trichomoniasis (TV) by wet mount. One hundred and ten (28.9%) women presented with symptoms of vaginitis. The presenting symptoms were vaginal discharge 106 (96.4%), vulval itching/irritation 19 (17...

Objective. To determine the awareness and knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents in Ado, South Western Nigeria. Methods. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional design. Five hundred and fifty adolescents selected from public and private secondary schools in Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State were recruited using a multistage sampling technique. Results. Four hundred and ninety-nine (92.4%) respondents had heard about sexually transmitted infections before, the three most important sources of information being electronic media (68...

Background. Ethiopia has one of the lowest HIV prevalence rates in East Africa, but there are still more than one million people estimated to be living with HIV in Ethiopia. This study was aimed at assessing the comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior among university students. Methodology. A cross-sectional comparative study was done with quantitative and qualitative data collection with a stratified sampling technique. The quantitative data were edited, coded, entered, and analyzed using SPSS software version 20...

Chlamydia trachomatis is a major cause of sexually transmitted bacterial disease worldwide. C. trachomatis is an intracellular bacterium and its growth in vitro requires cell culture facilities. The diagnosis is based on antigen detection and more recently on molecular nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAAT) that are considered fast, sensitive, and specific. In Belgium, External Quality Assessment (EQA) for the detection of C. trachomatis in urine by NAAT was introduced in 2008. From January 2008 to June 2012, nine surveys were organized...

Objective. To describe the current epidemiological features of syphilis and congenital syphilis in Trinidad, 2009-2012. Methods. All laboratory confirmed syphilis cases diagnosed through a vertical program in the Ministry of Health, between 1/1/2009 and 31/12/2012, were identified. All relevant data were collected including address which was geocoded and mapped using ArcGIS 10.0 (Esri). Both spatial techniques and standardized incidence ratios were used to determine hot spots. Results. The annual cumulative incidence rate for syphilis remains high varying from 39 per 100 000 population in 2009 to 29 per 100 000 in 2012...