{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T21:04:33Z","timestamp":1793048673045,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"10","funder":[{"name":"US President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program via the US Agency for International Development"},{"name":"Dutch Society for Tropical Medicine (NVTG), the Netherlands"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2017,9,11]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Trichomonas vaginalis<\/jats:italic>is thought to be the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. We investigated the prevalence, risk factors and protozoan load of<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>infection in South African women.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional study of 604 women was conducted at 25 primary healthcare facilities in rural South Africa (Mopani district).<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>DNA was detected in vaginal and rectal swabs. In univariate and multivariate analyses, the<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>infection was investigated in relation to demographic characteristics, medical history and behavioural factors. The<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>load was determined as the logarithm of DNA copies per microlitre sample solution.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Collected vaginal and rectal swabs were tested for<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>DNA. Prevalence of vaginal<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>was 20% (95% CI 17.0% to 23.4%) and rectal 1.2% (95% CI 0.6% to 2.4%). Most women (66%) with a vaginal infection were asymptomatic. Factors associated with<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>infection were a relationship status of single (OR 2.4; 95%\u2009CI 1.5 to 4.0; p&lt;0.001) and HIV positive infection (OR 1.6; 95%\u2009CI 1.0 to 2.6; p=0.041). Women with vaginal<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>infection were more likely to have concurrent<jats:italic>Chlamydia trachomatis<\/jats:italic>rectal infection than those without vaginal infection (12%vs3%; p&lt;0.001; OR 4.1). A higher median<jats:italic>T. vaginalis<\/jats:italic>load was observed among women with observed vaginal discharge compared with those without vaginal discharge (p=0.025).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vaginal trichomoniasis is highly prevalent in rural South Africa, especially among single women and those with HIV infection, and often presents without symptoms.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-016959","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,10]],"date-time":"2017-10-10T00:10:14Z","timestamp":1507594214000},"page":"e016959","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":45,"title":["Prevalence of<i>Trichomonas vaginalis<\/i>infection and protozoan load in South African women: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Dewi J","family":"de Waaij","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0605-4080","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jan Henk","family":"Dubbink","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2092-0002","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sander","family":"Ouburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2124-7275","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Remco P H","family":"Peters","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9953-0495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Servaas A","family":"Morr\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,10,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"2024051614080245000_7.10.e016959.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11908-015-0484-7"},{"key":"2024051614080245000_7.10.e016959.2","unstructured":"World Health Organization DoRHaR. 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