{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,8]],"date-time":"2026-07-08T13:31:23Z","timestamp":1783517483496,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,6]],"date-time":"2024-09-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1725580800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have a profound impact on sexual and reproductive health worldwide. Syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis are four currently curable STIs. However, most STI cases are asymptomatic and not detected without laboratory diagnostics. Hepatitis B virus, herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV) are four viral and incurable infections, but they can be mitigated by treatment. We investigated the prevalence of selected sexually transmitted pathogens and their relationship with HPV and HIV infection in women from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 233 non-pregnant women seeking health care relating to gynecological symptoms in Mavalane Health facilities in Maputo, between the 1<jats:sup><jats:bold>st<\/jats:bold><\/jats:sup> of February 2018 and the 30<jats:sup><jats:bold>th<\/jats:bold><\/jats:sup> of July 2019. Cervical brush samples were collected and DNA was extracted. Selected STIs including HPV were detected using multiplex STD and HPV Direct Flow Chip Kits through a manual Hybrispot platform (Vitro, Master Diagnostica, Sevilla, Spain). HIV testing was performed using rapid tests: Determine HIV 1\/2 test (Alere Abbott Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan) for screening, and UniGold HIV (Trinity Biotech, Ireland) for confirmation. All women (n = 233) were negative for <jats:italic>Haemophilus ducreyi<\/jats:italic> and Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1). Among the 233 women, a high prevalence of STIs was found (89%), 63% of the women were positive for HPV and 24% were HIV positive. <jats:italic>Treponema pallidum<\/jats:italic> (TP), <jats:italic>Trichomonas vaginalis<\/jats:italic> (TV), Herpes Simplex Virus-2 (HSV-2), and <jats:italic>Chlamydia trachomatis<\/jats:italic> (CT) were detected in 17%, 14%, 8%, and 8% of the women, respectively. As a common phenomenon, vaginal discharge (90%) was the lower genital tract symptom reported by the majority of the women. Co-infection with any STI and HPV was detected in 56% (130\/233) while 45% (59\/130) of the co-infections were with high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes. Among the HPV-positive participants, infection by TP was the most prevalent (27%). In total, 28% (66\/233) of the participants were positive for any hrHPV genotypes. Co-infection with any STI and HIV was found in 15% (34\/233) of the study participants. There was a significant association between HPV infection and TP (p = 0.039) and HSV-2 (p = 0.005). TV, TP, and CT-S1-CT-S2 positivity were significantly more prevalent in HIV-positive participants. Pathobionts Ureaplasma urealyticum\/parvum and Mycoplasma hominis were detected in 84.0% (195\/233) and 45% (105\/233), respectively. This present study describes a high prevalence of STIs. Co-infection between HPV and STIs was found in the majority of the study subjects. The high prevalence of HPV emphasizes the need for HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer in this population. Management of STIs is also important in women presenting with gynecological symptoms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0307781","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,6]],"date-time":"2024-09-06T17:29:13Z","timestamp":1725643753000},"page":"e0307781","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["The relationship between selected sexually transmitted pathogens, HPV and HIV infection status in women presenting with gynaecological symptoms in Maputo City, Mozambique"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1511-6175","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Cremildo","family":"Maueia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alltalents","family":"Murahwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alice","family":"Manjate","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1059-217X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jahit","family":"Sacarlal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Darlene","family":"Kenga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magnus","family":"Unemo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S\u00f6ren","family":"Andersson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tuf\u00e1ria","family":"Muss\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna-Lise","family":"Williamson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0307781.ref001","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Assessment of country implementation of the WHO global health sector strategy for sexually transmitted infections (2016 2021): results of a national survey.","author":"WHO","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0307781.ref002","volume-title":"global health sector strategy on sexually transmitted infections 2016\u20132021.","author":"WHO","year":"2016"},{"key":"pone.0307781.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"851635","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2022.851635","article-title":"Incidence Trends of Five Common Sexually Transmitted Infections Excluding HIV From 1990 to 2019 at the Global, Regional, and National Levels: Results From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.","volume":"9","author":"L Fu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Med (Lausanne)."},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0307781.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"208","DOI":"10.1097\/OLQ.0000000000001355","article-title":"Sexually Transmitted Infections Among US Women and Men: Prevalence and Incidence Estimates, 2018.","volume":"48","author":"KM Kreisel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sex Transm Dis."},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0307781.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e553","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.553","article-title":"Priorities for a gender-sensitive sexually transmitted infections and human immunodeficiency virus (STIs\/HIV) services: An exploratory mixed methods study.","volume":"5","author":"M Simbar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Health Sci Rep."},{"issue":"1\u201302","key":"pone.0307781.ref006","first-page":"11","article-title":"The Presentation, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections.","volume":"113","author":"FM Wagenlehner","year":"2016","journal-title":"Dtsch Arztebl Int"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0307781.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1373\/clinchem.2015.240234","article-title":"The ABCs of STIs: An Update on Sexually Transmitted Infections","volume":"62","author":"ML Yarbrough","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin Chem"},{"key":"pone.0307781.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.rr7004a1","article-title":"Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021.","volume":"70","author":"KAB Workowski","year":"2021","journal-title":"MMWR-Recommendations and Reports\u2014CDC."},{"key":"pone.0307781.ref009","volume-title":"Human Papillomavirus and Related Diseases in the World. 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