Chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae prevalence among women living in a low income neighborhood - a populational surveyin Porto Alegre, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Epidemiological surveillance of STDs causing agents is fundamental to the success of control activities. Data on the frequency of differentSTDs microorganisms are scarce in Brazil. Even in the international literature, many of the referred to as populational studies used different health services.Objective: Evaluating the occurrence of C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae. In women, 15 to 44 years old, who live in a poor neighborhood, in PortoAlegre. Also, the acceptability of a non-invasive test for household surveys and the health seeking behavior were evaluated in this population. Methods:A cross-sectional study in a four-month period at the end of 2001. It was performed in the region served by a primary care family health unity (FHU). Thehouses and the participants were randomly selected, regardless of STDs symptoms presence. The study was approved by an independent ethical committee.A structured interview was performed. Ten to 30 mL of urine (first void) were collected, preserved in -18ºC and processed in less than two months. A PCRwas used for detecting simultaneous infection diagnosis. Results:C. trachomatis infection was found in one participant (0,6%) (95% CI: 0,0%-3,4%) andN. gonorrhoeae was found in equal prevalence. The average age of the participants was 27,4 (SD of 8,7). Of the 161 women, 146 (91%) (95% CI 85,1%-94,7%) reported having visited the FHU and 128 (80%) (95% CI: 72,3%-85,3%) reported they would prefer to be ween at the local health unit, in case ofhaving an STD. Conclusion: The reasearched agents were prevalent in our sample, even though below expected to this kind of population. Twohypotheses can be considered: 1) a higher average age made women with lower risk (epidemiological and immunologic) overepresented and 2) easy accessto health care and its great coverage makes infection prevalence smaller on the studied population. Based on the results, we cannot suggest the start ofscreening programs on this kind of population.