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01-06-2015 | Intra-abdominal Infections, Hepatitis, and Gastroenteritis (T Steiner, Section Editor)

Epidemiology and Treatment of Trichomoniasis

Author: Patricia Kissinger

Published in: Current Infectious Disease Reports | Issue 6/2015

Abstract

Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common nonviral sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. It was once thought to be a nuisance STI, but it is now being recognized as an important source of reproductive morbidity and a facilitator of HIV transmission and acquisition, and thus it is an important public health problem. The prevalence of T. vaginalis varies greatly by geography and risk group, but is more common among persons of African descent and appears to increase with age, though this may be a screening phenomenon. Wet mount and culture are simple diagnostics, but have lower sensitivity than nucleic acid amplification techniques presently approved for women only. Single dose (2 g) metronidazole (MTZ) for both the index patient and their sexual partners is the preferred treatment. High rates of retest positivity are found after single-dose treatment which are likely due to clinical resistance rather than re-infection and/or drug resistance.

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Title: Epidemiology and Treatment of Trichomoniasis
Author: Patricia Kissinger
Publication date: 01-06-2015
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Current Infectious Disease Reports / Issue 6/2015
Print ISSN: 1523-3847
Electronic ISSN: 1534-3146
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-015-0484-7

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