Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the most common agents of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. Here, we evaluated genital and extra-genital C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infection prevalence in a cohort of young women attending an STI Outpatients Clinic in Italy. From May 2019 to December 2019, 134 women aged 18-26 years were enrolled. A vaginal, a pharyngeal and a rectal swab for the molecular detection of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae were collected from each patient. Chlamydia-positive samples underwent a molecular genotyping based on pmpH gene. Total prevalence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infections was 17.9% and 11.2%, respectively. Chlamydial infections were prevalent in the urogenital (16.4%) and rectal (13.4%) sites, whereas N. gonorrhoeae predominated in the genital (7.4%) and pharyngeal (6%) mucosa. Overall, 5.2% of cases would have been missed if extra-genital sites had not been tested. Notably, 60% of women with a rectal infection did not report anal sex. A history of sexual contacts with a positive partner (P=0.03) and a history of ≥3 partners in the last 6 months (P=0.0075) were highly predictive of a bacterial STI. No cases of lymphogranuloma venereum were found. These data could help set up effective strategies to prevent the spread of STIs.

Genital and extra-genital Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in young women attending a Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clinic

Foschi, Claudio;Marangoni, Antonella
;
Re, Maria Carla;Gaspari, Valeria
2020

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are the most common agents of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. Here, we evaluated genital and extra-genital C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infection prevalence in a cohort of young women attending an STI Outpatients Clinic in Italy. From May 2019 to December 2019, 134 women aged 18-26 years were enrolled. A vaginal, a pharyngeal and a rectal swab for the molecular detection of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae were collected from each patient. Chlamydia-positive samples underwent a molecular genotyping based on pmpH gene. Total prevalence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae infections was 17.9% and 11.2%, respectively. Chlamydial infections were prevalent in the urogenital (16.4%) and rectal (13.4%) sites, whereas N. gonorrhoeae predominated in the genital (7.4%) and pharyngeal (6%) mucosa. Overall, 5.2% of cases would have been missed if extra-genital sites had not been tested. Notably, 60% of women with a rectal infection did not report anal sex. A history of sexual contacts with a positive partner (P=0.03) and a history of ≥3 partners in the last 6 months (P=0.0075) were highly predictive of a bacterial STI. No cases of lymphogranuloma venereum were found. These data could help set up effective strategies to prevent the spread of STIs.
2020
Foschi, Claudio; Zagarrigo, Manuel; Belletti, Matteo; Marangoni, Antonella; Re, Maria Carla; Gaspari, Valeria
File in questo prodotto:
Eventuali allegati, non sono esposti

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/772475
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 3
  • Scopus 14
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 13
social impact