Prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among Latino immigrant day laborers in an urban setting--San Francisco.

BACKGROUND Although rural Latino migrant laborers have been identified as a group at-risk for acquiring HIV, few studies have examined transmitted diseases (STDs) in urban, Latino migrant laborers. GOAL To assess the prevalence of STDs in a sample of urban, migrant day laborers in San Francisco. STUDY DESIGN A convenience sample of participants in the Day Laborer Project of the San Francisco Department of Public Health was screened for STDs from September 1994 to January 2001. Screening included serologic tests for syphilis and nucleic acid amplification tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia. RESULTS A total of 292 clients participated in the screening program. All participants were male, Latino, and recent immigrants. Of the 235 persons screened for syphilis, secondary syphilis was diagnosed in one (0.4%) participant. Of the 198 persons screened for gonorrhea and chlamydia, 1 (0.5%) had gonorrhea and 7 (3.5%) had chlamydia. CONCLUSION Urban Latino migrant day laborers are a population at-risk for infection with STDs. Community-based STD screening programs might be an effective way to detect STDs in this population.