OBJECTIVES Trichomonas vaginalis is thought to be the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. We investigated the prevalence, risk factors and protozoan load of T. vaginalis infection in South African women. METHODS A cross-sectional study of 604 women was conducted at 25 primary healthcare facilities in rural South Africa (Mopani district). T. vaginalis DNA was detect...

OBJECTIVE Trichomonas vaginalis analyte-specific reagent is a highly sensitive assay for T vaginalis detection. We report how this diagnostic innovation influenced the sexually transmitted infection ordering practice patterns of 20 subacute-care clinicians. METHODS T vaginalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and/or Chlamydia trachomatis screening data were audited on female swab submissions when only...

BACKGROUND Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge and is associated with important public health complications such as preterm birth and acquisition or transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and sexually transmitted infections. Continued controversy concerning the pathogenesis of BV has led to a lack of progress in prevention and management of this infectio...

D2A21, a novel peptide antibiotic has in vitro activity against a wide spectrum of sexually transmitted diseases (STD). In this study we tested the hypothesis that intravaginal D2A21 would interfere with acquisition of Trichomonas vaginalis infection in a modified mouse model. T. vaginalis infections of estrogenized young mice pretreated with Lactobacillus vaginalis or Lactobacillus rhamnosus w...

Introduction: Trichomoniasis, caused by the protozoan parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis, is a common but curable sexually transmitted disease (STD) affecting millions around the world. It can cause a variety of symptoms in women, namely, vaginal discharge, blood spotting, itching, redness and pain during sexual intercourse or urination. Trichomoniasis carries with it complications such as cervici...

BACKGROUND This study aimed to define the occurrence of different organisms causing vulvovaginitis; to evaluate different laboratory methods used for diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis); and to evaluate the direct score system and clue cell method compared with culture for diagnosis of bacterial and T. vaginalis vaginosis. METHODOLOGY Clinical and laboratory evaluations were per...

We investigated the effects of glycerol monolaurate (GML) on Lactobacillus, Candida, and Gardnerella vaginalis human vaginal microflora. Our previous work demonstrated that 6 months of GML treatment vaginally does not alter lactobacillus counts in monkeys. Candida and G. vaginalis are commonly associated with vaginal infections in women, many becoming chronic or recurrent. In vitro growth inhib...

Neutrophils are the predominant inflammatory cells found in the vaginal discharges of patients infected with Trichomonas vaginalis. Although chemoattractants, such as leukotriene B(4) and interleukin-8 (IL-8), are found in the vaginal discharges of symptomatic trichomoniasis patients, little is known about the mechanism of how neutrophils accumulate or mediate initial inflammatory response afte...

In this study, we describe Korean isolates of Trichomonas vaginalis infected with double-stranded (ds) RNA virus (TVV). One T. vaginalis isolate infected with TVV IH-2 evidenced weak pathogenicity in the mouse assay coupled with the persistent presence of a dsRNA, thereby indicating a hypovirulence effect of dsRNA in T. vaginalis. Cloning and sequence analysis results revealed that the genomic ...

Background: The interaction between HIV and Trichomonas vaginalis infection has been widely studied in most developed countries but with scanty information in subSaharan Africa. While many of these studies have examined the prevalence of T. vaginalis infection in HIV positive individuals, no study in Nigeria has shown the effect of T. vaginalis on HIV transmission. Therefore, the study aimed to...