Prevalence of <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae </i>in Western Iran

Abstract

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. This bacterium infects the epithelial cells of the cervix of women and the urethra of men. However, its disease symptoms in the lower genitalia are found only in a small percentage of people. This study aimed to compare the frequency of N. gonorrhoeae genital infection among two groups of pregnant women, those with spontaneous abortions and those with normal pregnancies. This crosssectional study was conducted in Western Iran. It included 417 women: 109 of whom had spontaneous abortions, 109 had normal deliveries, 100 were fertile, and 99 were infertile. Specific primers were used and DNA was extracted by endocervical swabs. A polymerase chain reaction test was then performed to detect N. gonorrhoeae. Data analysis was performed using the chi-squared test and t-tests. In all the above steps, a level of 5% was considered statistically significant, and the average ages in women with normal delivery, women with spontaneous abortion, fertile women, and infertile women were 27.8 ± 4.87, 29.6 ± 5.9, 32.1 ± 5.1, and 29.1 ± 6.3 years, respectively. The total frequency of N. gonorrhoeae infection was 0 (0%). The prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae infection was zero, and the disease was not associated with spontaneous abortion or infertility.

The prevalence of gonococcal and non-gonococcal infections in women referred to obstetrics and gynecology clinics

“…In addition, in the northern provinces of Iran, the prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae was 0.2% [14]. Moreover, in the studies from Zanjan and Kurdistan prevalence of the N. gonorrhoeae was less than %1 [1,15]. On the other hand, other studies from Iran reported more close prevalence rate for N. gonorrhoeae to the current study's results.…”

“…According to previous studies in Iran, the positive culture rate of N. gonorrhoeae has been reported from zero to less than 2% [1,10,11]. According to the low sensitivity of culture and phenotypic tests for detection of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, and Mycoplasma species, conventional microbial diagnostics were targeted in this study only to detect S. agalactiae.…”

“…The prevalence of gonococcal and non-gonococcal infections in women referred to obstetrics and gynecology clinics n INTRODUCTION G enital infections can be divided into gonococcal and non-gonococcal groups, the former being caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a Gram negative diplcoccus [1]. Other important agents including Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma gen-italium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma hominis are causative agents for non-gonococcal infections [2,3].…”