Trichomonas vaginalis

 

Images:  http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Protozoa01.html

 

Phylogeny:                              Order Trichomonadida

 

Preferred definitive host:                   Humans

 

Reservoir hosts:                      None

 

Vector/intermediate host:                  None

 

Geographical location:            Cosmopolitan

 

Organs Affected:                     Vagina and urethra of women and in the

                                                          prostate, seminal vesicles, and

                                                          urethra of men

 

Symptoms and clinical signs: Frequently symptomless among males,

                                                                   but some strains cause inflammation,

                                                                   with itching and a copious white

                                                                   discharge swarming with

                                                                   trichomonads.  Vaginal secretions

                                                                   may become greenish and condition

                                                         may become chronic and/or recurrent.

 

Treatment:                               Metronidazole     

 

 

Medscape from WebMD

 

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Trichomoniasis Increases Risk of HIV Infection



Reuters Health Information 2007. © 2007 Reuters Ltd.
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 06 - Women with trichomoniasis have about a 50% greater risk of acquiring HIV infection compared with women who do not have this common sexually transmitted infection, according to a study in the March 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

This is one of the first studies to demonstrate a statistically significant link between Trichomonas vaginalis and HIV infection, the study team notes.

Among 1335 HIV-seronegative female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya, who were followed for a median of 566 days, researchers documented 806 cases of T. vaginalis infection and 265 women became infected with HIV.

According to Dr. R. Scott McClelland of the University of Washington, Seattle and colleagues there and in Kenya, trichomoniasis was associated with a 1.52-fold increased risk of HIV-1 infection after adjustment for condom use and number of sex partners.

A causal association between vaginal trichomoniasis and increased risk of HIV infection is biologically plausible, the authors say, noting that T. vaginalis "leads to an inflammatory response with recruitment of CD4-bearing lymphocytes and macrophages to the vaginal and cervical mucosa."

Mucosal hemorrhages can occur with trichomoniasis, which could provide a physical pathway for HIV-1 infection. Trichomoniasis may also render women more susceptible to bacterial vaginosis or persistent abnormal vaginal flora.

"Interventions to prevent and treat trichomoniasis and to improve vaginal health in general," conclude Dr. McClelland and colleagues, "could provide important female-controlled methods for reducing the risk of HIV-1 transmission to women."

J Infect Dis 2007;195:698-702.

 

Trichomonas vaginalis increases the risk of preterm delivery:

PathogenicCausesPreTermBirth