Prevalence of five curable sexually transmitted infections among women in Lower River Region of The Gambia

Background: The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in sub-Saharan Africa is poorly described. We aimed to determine the prevalence of five curable STIs ( Chlamydia trachomatis [CT], Neisseria gonorrhoeae [NG], Trichomonas vaginalis [TV], Mycoplasma genitalium [MG], Treponema pallidum [TP]) in a sample of Gambian women from the general population. Methods Archived specimens from 420 women aged 15 − 69 years living in The Gambia enrolled in a clinical trial of human papilloma virus vaccine schedules were tested in this study. Urine samples were tested for CT, NG, TV and MG using a commercially available, open-platform multiplex PCR kit. A fragment of the ompA gene was amplified from CT-positive samples and sequenced. Serum samples were tested for TP using the Chembio DPP Syphilis Screen and Confirm test. Results Overall, 41/420 (9.8%) women had at least one STI. 32 (7.6%), 9 (2.1%), 1 (0.2%), 1 (0.2%) and 0 (0.0%) were infected with TV, CT, NG, MG and TP, respectively. ompA gene sequence was available from five CT infections: four were genovar D and one was genovar G. Conclusions STIs are endemic in The Gambia. Monitoring systems should be established.