Trichomonas vaginalis. II. Laboratory investigations in trichomoniasis.

Trichomonas vaginalis was first described by Donne (1836), who observed the organism in purulent secretions in both women and men, and stated that it was not present in normal vaginal secretions. T. vaginalis was successfully cultured in vitro by Lynch (1915), and there have since been a number of publications containing descriptions of the morphological, epidemiological, and pathological aspects of trichomonal infestation (Trussell, 1947; Whittington, 1957; Burch, Rees, and Reardon, 1959a; Frost and Honigberg, 1962; Niekerk, 1963; Honigberg and King, 1964; Nielsen, Ludvik, and Nielsen, 1966). There was no effective therapy for Trichomonas infection until the discovery of metronidazole (Flagylg) by Durel, Roiron, Siboulet, and Borel (1960). This great therapeutic advance led to the need for improved methods of demonstrating T. vaginalis in secretions. The simplest and most rapid method is direct microscopy of unstained wet preparations in which the actively moving organism is readily recognized. However, since the development of suitable media it has been found that culture is the most sensitive method (Whittington, 1957; Burch, Rees, and Reardon, 1959b; Petri, 1962; Lowe, 1965; Hess, 1969). Routine culture of T. vaginalis has been carried out in the Neisseria Department of the Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, since 1962, and a method of testing the sensitivity to metronidazole has been developed concurrently.