Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis in prenatal care in the public health system, in a southern city of Brazil

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) are prevalent in developing countries and are associated with unfavorable perinatal outcomes. Infections with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) are asymptomatic in 70% of cases. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of CT, NG, MG and TV in pregnant women, correlating it with sociodemographic data. The sample had 148 pregnant women between 18 and 49 years old, who attended in Joinville, South Brazil, from November 2021 to March 2022. The exclusion criteria were: recent antibiotic therapy and risk for miscarriage. Data collection and endovaginal swabs were performed to research of agents through molecular biology. 148 pregnant women were studied, 16.2% (N=24) had at least one of the agents positive. C. trachomatis , M. genitalium and T. vaginalis were detected in 11 (7.43%), 13 (8.78%) and 3 (2.03%) women, respectively. N. gonorrhoeae was not detected. There were three cases of infection with more than one microorganism (2 CT + MG and 1 MG + TV). MG infection was associated with single women (p-value=0.014); trichomoniasis, with more partners in the last year (p-value=0.042). The high detection of MG in Brazilian pregnant women deserves to be highlighted. This had not yet been reported. The prevalence of CT and NG was in accordance to Brazilian studies, while TV was in common with European rates. The absence of clinical symptoms, the non-association between sexual risk behavior and the presence of STI were observed.