Trichomonas vaginalis Infection Rates Disproportionately High in African Americans

HealthDay News — The burden of Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infection is disproportionately high among blacks in the United States, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Eshan U. Patel, MPH, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and colleagues tested 4057 males and females aged 18 to 59 years who participated in the 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and provided urine specimens for T vaginalis infection.

The researchers found that the prevalence of T vaginalis infection was 0.5% and 1.8% among males and females, respectively; 4.2% and 8.9% among black males and black females, respectively; and 0.03% and 0.8% among males and females of other races/ethnicities, respectively.

There were positive associations for T vaginalis infection prevalence with female sex, black race, older age, being below the poverty level, and having 2 or more sexual partners. No TV and Chlamydia trachomatis coinfection was seen.

There were no independent associations for genital human papillomavirus detection with T vaginalis infection. The relative racial disparity in T vaginalis infection was higher among persons age 18 to 39 years than the relative racial disparity of other sexually transmitted infections.

“There is a high and disproportionate burden of [T vaginalis] infection in the adult civilian, noninstitutionalized black population in the United States that warrants intervention,” the authors write.

Reference

Patel EU, Gaydos CA, Packman ZR, Quinn TC, Tobian AAR. Prevalence and correlates of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among men and women in the United States [published online March 15, 2018]. Clin Infect Dis. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy079