Kohli Ruchika, Konya Walter P, Obura Timona, Stones William, Revathi Gunturu
Department of Pathology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
BMC Res Notes. 2013 Feb 4;6:44. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-44.
Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the major causes of sexually transmitted infections throughout the world. Most infections are asymptomatic and remain undetected. Burden of disease in the Kenyan population is not well characterised. This study was done to define the prevalence of genital Chlamydia infection in a representative female population.
A cross-sectional study design was employed. All women attending out-patient clinics (antenatal, gynaecology, family planning) and accident and emergency departments at two study sites over a five month period were invited to consent to completion of a questionnaire and vaginal swab collection. A rapid point-of-care immunoassay based test was performed on the swabs. Women who tested positive for Chlamydia were offered treatment, together with their partner(s), and advised to come for a follow-up test.A total of 300 women were tested. The prevalence of genital Chlamydia trachomatis was found to be 6% (95% CI 3.31% - 8.69%). The prevalence was higher in women who represented a higher socioeconomic level, but this difference was not significant (p=0.061). Use of vaginal swabs was observed to be a more acceptable form of sample collection.
The prevalence of genital Chlamydia is significant in our female population. There is a justifiable need to institute opportunistic screening programs to reduce the burden of this disease. Rapid and low cost point-of-care testing as a potential component of sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening can be utilised.
沙眼衣原体是全球性传播感染的主要病因之一。大多数感染无症状，仍未被发现。肯尼亚人群中的疾病负担尚无充分描述。本研究旨在确定具有代表性的女性人群中生殖道沙眼衣原体感染的患病率。
采用横断面研究设计。在五个月的时间里，邀请了两个研究地点的所有门诊（产前、妇科、计划生育）以及急诊科就诊的女性同意完成问卷调查并采集阴道拭子。对拭子进行基于即时护理免疫分析的快速检测。沙眼衣原体检测呈阳性的女性及其伴侣接受治疗，并被建议前来进行后续检测。
共对300名女性进行了检测。发现生殖道沙眼衣原体的患病率为6%（95%置信区间3.31% - 8.69%）。社会经济水平较高的女性患病率更高，但差异不显著（p = 0.061）。观察到使用阴道拭子是更易接受的样本采集方式。
在我们的女性人群中，生殖道沙眼衣原体的患病率较高。有必要开展机会性筛查项目以减轻该疾病的负担。可采用快速且低成本的即时护理检测作为性传播感染（STI）筛查的潜在组成部分。
