Vaginal trichomoniasis among HIV patients attending primary health care centers of Jos, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the prevalence of trichomonal infection in HIV/AIDS and non-HIV\udcontrol group of patients in a population of women with abnormal vaginal discharge. Methods:\udWe conducted a simple cross-sectional study. Primary health care centers in Jos metropolis\udand Jos University Teaching Hospital, during December 2006 to December 2007. Seven hundred\udhigh vaginal swabs were collected; 350 from HIV positive and another 350 from HIV-negative\udcontrol group of patients with abnormal vaginal discharge attending primary health care centers\udin Jos metropolis and analysed for microscopy and culture in Jos University Teaching Hospital.\udData on epidemiologic indices from the patients, using structured interviewer-administered\udquestionnaires were collected. Results: The rate of trichomoniasis among all participants in the\udstudy was 17% (n=120/700). The prevalence rate of trichomoniasis among persons with HIV was 24%\udwhile it was found to be 10.3% among HIV negative controls. The difference was statistically\udsignificant (氈 2 =23.172; df=1; P<0.05). The rate of co-infection of Trichomonas vaginalis (T.\udvaginalis) in bacterial vaginosis was 42% (n=50/120), while it was 24% (n=29/120) in candidiasis. The\udsingles had a 35% high rate of trichomonal infection. The infected women had a median age of 26\udyears, and a median number of 3 intra-vaginal sex partners per week. Conclusions: There was a\udsignificant statistical difference in prevalence of T. vaginalis between HIV/AIDS group and nonHIV(control) group of patients in the study (P<0.05). Local HIV prevention strategies should target\udsuch women with trichomonal infection for intervention efforts, especially in HIV endemic area of\udsub-continent of Africa to further reduce the burden of HIV in the population