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. 2022 Nov 14;15(1):424.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-022-05508-z.

Prevalence of selected sexually transmitted infectious agents in a cohort of asymptomatic soldiers in Austria

Iwona Lesiak-Markowicz  1 , Claudia Tscherwizek  2 , Wolfgang Pöppl  2 , Gerhard Mooseder  2 , Julia Walochnik  1 , Ursula Fürnkranz  3
Affiliations

Prevalence of selected sexually transmitted infectious agents in a cohort of asymptomatic soldiers in Austria

Iwona Lesiak-Markowicz et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day worldwide. Although STIs may be asymptomatic in many cases, they can cause severe symptoms and can also lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and both male and female infertility. Asymptomatic carriers seem to play an important role in terms of the distribution of STIs; however, studies revealing the prevalence of STIs in asymptomatic individuals are rare.

Methods: In the current study, 654 leftovers of standard urine samples from healthy, asymptomatic Austrian soldiers were investigated for the prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis, Chlamydia trachomatis, and genital mycoplasmas (Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum, and Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii) by specific PCRs.

Results: We detected T. vaginalis, M. hominis, U. urealyticum, U. parvum, and C. trachomatis in the investigated samples with prevalence of 7.6%, 4%, 2.4%, 5.4%, and 3.2%, respectively; neither M. genitalium nor Ca. Mycoplasma girerdii was found in our sample collection.

Conclusions: Our study introduces data on STIs of a mainly male cohort, which are scarce because most of the available information on sexually transmitted infectious agents arises from fertility clinics (mainly women) or symptomatic patients.

Keywords: Asymptomatic soldiers; Prevalence; Sexually transmitted infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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