Ezeanya Chinyere Charity, Agbakoba Nneka Regina, Enweani Ifeoma Bessie, Oguejiofor Charlotte
a Department of Medical Laboratory Science , Nnamdi Azikiwe University , Awka , Nigeria.
b Department of Medical Microbiology , Edo University Iyamho , Nigeria.
J Obstet Gynaecol. 2019 Aug;39(6):840-844. doi: 10.1080/01443615.2019.1584888. Epub 2019 Apr 22.
Here, we aimed to investigate the predominance of cervicitis agents with minimal testing rates among asymptomatic students in a Tertiary Institution and its associated risk factors. Endocervical swabs were collected from randomly selected 133 female students (15-34 years of age) in Benin City, Nigeria and screened for six genital pathogens (, , and ) using multiplex PCR. Out of the 133 subjects, 80 were positive for cervicitis with 46.3% of its agents. Five different species of the pathogens were identified with highest and lowest prevalence as: (71.0%) and (6.45%). Co-infection had predominance of 19.35 and 9.67% for three-organism and two-organism colonisation respectively. Strong associations were observed between the presence of cervicitis and co-infection with other genital pathogens, abortion, inconsistent condom use ( < .05). The high occurrence of cervicitis agents in our study combined with asymptomatic outcome among the subjects justifies screening for these pathogens in this population. Impact statement Cervicitis is a genital condition among reproductive age women. It is characterised by inflammation of the uterine cervix which subsequently promotes the acquisition of certain genital conditions such as infertility and sexually transmitted infections. In various studies, there have been reports on 30-40% of cervicitis cases associated with known pathogens but left undetected within the general population. Studies have shown that majority of the cervicitis cases presents in an asymptomatic state. There may be some risk associated factors promoting the acquisition of cervicitis agents within the student population since the prevalence of these agents in this population which is underrated was relatively high. Further investigation is needed to define the prospective influence of microbial load in colonisation of the organism and the association of new and higher sexual partners as their prevalence are not fully understood. Furthermore, our finding recommend inclusion of screening exercise for cervicitis agents within the student population which will control the infection, thereby improving female reproductive health, consequently limiting spread and serious sequelae.
在此，我们旨在调查某高等院校无症状学生中宫颈炎病原体检出率极低的主要病原体及其相关危险因素。从尼日利亚贝宁城随机选取133名年龄在15 - 34岁之间的女学生，采集宫颈拭子样本，采用多重聚合酶链反应（PCR）对六种生殖道病原体（[具体病原体未给出]）进行筛查。在这133名受试者中，80人宫颈炎检测呈阳性，病原体感染率为46.3%。鉴定出五种不同的病原体，患病率最高和最低的分别为：[具体病原体1]（71.0%）和[具体病原体2]（6.45%）。三种病原体和两种病原体定植的合并感染率分别为19.35%和9.67%。宫颈炎的存在与其他生殖道病原体的合并感染、流产、避孕套使用不一致之间存在强关联（P < 0.05）。我们研究中宫颈炎病原体的高检出率以及受试者中的无症状结果表明，对该人群进行这些病原体的筛查是合理的。影响声明：宫颈炎是育龄妇女的一种生殖系统疾病。其特征是子宫颈发炎，这随后会促使某些生殖系统疾病的发生，如不孕症和性传播感染。在各种研究中，有报告称30% - 40%的宫颈炎病例与已知病原体有关，但在普通人群中未被发现。研究表明，大多数宫颈炎病例呈无症状状态。由于该人群中这些病原体的患病率被低估但相对较高，可能存在一些促进学生群体感染宫颈炎病原体的相关危险因素。由于微生物负荷在病原体定植中的前瞻性影响以及新的和更多性伴侣的关联尚未完全了解，因此需要进一步调查。此外，我们的研究结果建议在学生群体中开展宫颈炎病原体筛查活动，这将控制感染，从而改善女性生殖健康，进而限制传播和严重后遗症。
