Trichomonas Vaginalis: controversy questions

Abstract

Trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral infection in the sexually transmitted world and is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, a single-celled parasite that belongs to the flagellate class. Trichomoniasis is not subject to reporting in many countries, and therefore, assessing the prevalence of infection in population screening is complicated. According to the WHO, in 2008 there were 276.4 million cases, the global prevalence of Tr. vaginalis was 8.1% for women and 1.0% for men. The level of Tr. vaginalis differs greatly from the population, the country, the methods of identification of the pathogen. One of the important reasons for diagnosis and treatment of T. vaginalis is the increased risk of infection and transmission of HIV from 2.1 to 2.8 times when it is available. Most women (85%) and men (77%) with Tr. vaginalis have no clinical symptoms. In one third of infected women, symptoms appear within 6 months. Among those who have clinical manifestations, they are nonspecific: the presence of vaginal discharge of varying intensity and density, dysuria, itching, irritation, aching pain in the lower abdomen. The available diagnosis for Tr. vaginalis ranges from basic microscopy to nucleic acid amplification assays. Women are recommended to take biological material from the posterior vaginal fornix, men – urine, ejaculate, secret prostate. ML DILA proposes the definition of Tr. vaginalis by the gold standard method of InPouch, or the simultaneous determination of the most common 4 pathogens and 3 conditional pathogens by the method of “Screening of STIs”. Control of treatment effectiveness according to the CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines are recommended for all women within the first 3 months after treatment, regardless of whether they consider their sexual partners cured, which is associated with a high risk of reinfection.

Keywords

• trichomoniasis
• diagnostics
• treatment