Lesiak-Markowicz I, Tscherwizek C, Pöppl W, Mooseder G, Walochnik J, Fürnkranz U. Prevalence of selected sexually transmitted infectious agents in a cohort of asymptomatic soldiers in Austria.
Parasit Vectors 2022;
15:424. [PMID:
36372885 PMCID:
PMC9661754 DOI:
10.1186/s13071-022-05508-z]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day worldwide. Although STIs may be asymptomatic in many cases, they can cause severe symptoms and can also lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and both male and female infertility. Asymptomatic carriers seem to play an important role in terms of the distribution of STIs; however, studies revealing the prevalence of STIs in asymptomatic individuals are rare.
METHODS
In the current study, 654 leftovers of standard urine samples from healthy, asymptomatic Austrian soldiers were investigated for the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia trachomatis, and genital mycoplasmas (Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum, and Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii) by specific PCRs.
RESULTS
We detected T. vaginalis, M. hominis, U. urealyticum, U. parvum, and C. trachomatis in the investigated samples with prevalence of 7.6%, 4%, 2.4%, 5.4%, and 3.2%, respectively; neither M. genitalium nor Ca. Mycoplasma girerdii was found in our sample collection.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study introduces data on STIs of a mainly male cohort, which are scarce because most of the available information on sexually transmitted infectious agents arises from fertility clinics (mainly women) or symptomatic patients.
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