American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 86, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 292-295

Short report: Sexually transmitted infections in newly arrived refugees: Is routine screening for Neisseria gonorrheae and Chlamydia trachomatis infection indicated? (Article) (Open Access)

Stauffer W.M.* , Painter J. , Mamo B. , Kaiser R. , Weinberg M. , Berman S.
  • a Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
  • b Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • c Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control, Minnesota Department of Health, 625 North Robert Street, St. Paul, MN, United States
  • d Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases and International Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
  • e Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • f National Center for HIV/ AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States

Abstract

More than 340 million cases of bacterial and protozoal sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur annually. Approximately 70,000 refugees arrive in the United States on a yearly basis. Refugees are a particularly disenfranchised and vulnerable population. The prevalence of Chlamydia and gonorrhea in refugee populations has not been described, and the utility of routine screening is unknown. We performed a descriptive evaluation of 25,779 refugees who completed a screening medical examination in Minnesota during 2003-2010. A total of 18,516 (72%) refugees were tested for at least one STI: 183 (1.1%) of 17,235 were seropositive for syphilis, 15 (0.6%) of 2,512 were positive for Chlamydia, 5 (0.2%) of 2,403 were positive for gonorrhea, 136 (2.0%) of 6,765 were positive for human immunodeficiency virus, and 6 (0.1%) of 5,873 were positive for multiple STIs. Overall prevalence of Chlamydia (0.6%) and gonorrhea (0.2%) infection was low, which indicated that routine screening may not be indicated. However, further research on this subject is encouraged. Copyright © 2012 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

descriptive research HIV Infections refugee sexual behavior Human immunodeficiency virus infection Neisseria gonorrhoeae human Refugees middle aged Middle East Bacteria (microorganisms) Eastern Europe Minnesota Human immunodeficiency virus screening South Africa Chlamydia Young Adult United States gonorrhea Humans Adolescent male Southeast Asia female Syphilis prevalence isolation and purification Article Retrospective Studies major clinical study adult infection risk age Guidelines as Topic retrospective study Chlamydia trachomatis disease association practice guideline pathogenicity chlamydiasis mixed infection
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84856983506&doi=10.4269%2fajtmh.2012.11-0527&partnerID=40&md5=df3717d6d09661a1fa0a259e2e45d36c
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0527
ISSN: 00029637
Cited by: 7
Original Language: English