Prevalence of genital pathogens among female prostitutes in New York City and in Rotterdam

Abstract

The authors studied the prevalence of genital microorganisms among 300 female prostitutes in brothels in New York City and 60 female prostitutes attending a sexually transmitted diseases clinic in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Rates of isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum in the two cities were 9.3% and 8.3%, 25.3% and 16.6%, 57.3% and 74.9%, and 73% and 79%, respectively. Trichomonas vaginalis was detected in 3.6% of New York prostitutes and in 16.6% of those in Rotterdam. Nonspecific vaginitis was found in 33% of prostitutes examined in New York. In New York, Asian prostitutes were more likely to be infected with C. trachomatis (33 of 102; 32.3%) than were prostitutes of other ethnic backgrounds (44 of 194; 21.5%; P less than .05.