Trichomonas STD common, often undetected, in men

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Nearly three-quarters of the male sexual partners of women with a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) called trichomoniasis carry the infection themselves, but the vast majority has no symptoms, a new study shows.

Doctors say the findings underscore the importance of including men in efforts to control the spread of trichomoniasis, a parasitic infection caused by the Trichomonas vaginalis organism.

Trichomonas infection has been linked to pelvic inflammatory disease, precancerous cervical changes, and premature delivery in women, and may also facilitate the spread of HIV, Dr. Arlene C. Sena of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and colleagues note.

However, lab tests commonly used to detect the infection can only typically identify people carrying large amounts of the organism. Therefore, some infections -- especially those that don't cause symptoms -- may be missed.

To better understand the prevalence of trichomoniasis in men, the researchers used a sensitive test to identify the DNA of the organism in sexual partners of infected women.

Sena and her team tested 3,836 women for trichomoniasis at three STD clinics, and found 790, or 20.6 percent, carried the infection.

They enrolled 540 infected women and 261 of their partners, and found 71.7 percent of the men were also infected. However, 76.8 percent of the men had no symptoms.

Commenting on the study findings, Dr. Barbara Van Der Pol of Indiana University, Indianapolis, says more resources must be directed toward eradicating the disease.

"Without specifically targeted funding, infection with T. vaginalis will continue to be a 'silent' sexually transmitted infection, placing millions of women at increased risk of health complications and HIV infection," she warns.

SOURCE: Clinical Infectious Diseases, January 1, 2007.