The prevalence of trichomoniasis in people at high risk

Trichomoniasis is considered to be the most common sexually transmitted infection that can be treated. Each year, 5 million new cases of trichomoniasis are detected in the United States, compared to 3 million cases of chlamydia and 650,000 cases of gonorrhea.

The asymptomatic course of the disease (up to 50% of cases in women) is one of the main causes of generalized infection. However, recent studies have shown that the prevalence of trichomoniasis, particularly in high-risk groups, is still underestimated.

A study aimed at identifying the frequency of infection with drug addict trichomonas showed that 44% of the 11 women examined were infected, while only 6 of them knew it. Among women with mental illness, 22% of the 38 people examined had trichomoniasis, while only 1% of them were infected with chlamydia. Another alarming finding was the widespread prevalence of trichomoniasis in women infected with HIV, even after treatment. Thus, 20% of the 35 women remained infected after having received metronidazole treatment, compared to 8.2% of the 267 women who were not infected with HIV. This may be associated with both reinfection and ineffective use of metronidazole due to resistance to pathogens or persistent infection.

Metronidazole is currently the main drug for the treatment of trichomoniasis. Tinidazole, the second generation 5-nitroimidazole, an antibiotic with high antitrichomonas activity, can be used to treat infections caused by strains Trichomonas vaginalis that are resistant to metronidazole.