Emerging Infectious Diseases (Mar 2021)

Mycoplasma genitalium and Other Reproductive Tract Infections in Pregnant Women, Papua New Guinea, 2015–2017

  • Michelle J.L. Scoullar,
  • Philippe Boeuf,
  • Elizabeth Peach,
  • Ruth Fidelis,
  • Kerryanne Tokmun,
  • Pele Melepia,
  • Arthur Elijah,
  • Catriona S. Bradshaw,
  • Glenda Fehler,
  • Peter M. Siba,
  • Simon Erskine,
  • Elisa Mokany,
  • Elissa Kennedy,
  • Alexandra J. Umbers,
  • Stanley Luchters,
  • Leanne J. Robinson,
  • Nicholas C. Wong,
  • Andrew J. Vallely,
  • Steven G. Badman,
  • Lisa M. Vallely,
  • Freya J.I. Fowkes,
  • Christopher Morgan,
  • William Pomat,
  • Brendan S. Crabb,
  • James G. Beeson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2703.201783
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 3
pp. 894 – 904

Abstract

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Much about the range of pathogens, frequency of coinfection, and clinical effects of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) among pregnant women remains unknown. We report on RTIs (Mycoplasma genitalium, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, bacterial vaginosis, and vulvovaginal candidiasis) and other reproductive health indicators in 699 pregnant women in Papua New Guinea during 2015–2017. We found M. genitalium, an emerging pathogen in Papua New Guinea, in 12.5% of participants. These infections showed no evidence of macrolide resistance. In total, 74.1% of pregnant women had >1 RTI; most of these infections were treatable. We detected sexually transmitted infections (excluding syphilis) in 37.7% of women. Our findings showed that syndromic management of infections is greatly inadequate. In total, 98.4% of women had never used barrier contraception. These findings will inform efforts to improve reproductive healthcare in Papua New Guinea.

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