Abstract:
Sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS are common in developing
countries. Young women continue to be one of the populations at greatest risk for
HIV infection. The STIs and HIV epidemics are inter-dependent. Behaviours such as
frequent unprotected intercourse with different partners, place people at high risk of
both infections, and there is clear evidence that conventional STIs increase the
likelihood of HIV transmission. The main objective of this study was to investigate
the prevalence of and risk factors for STIs among young women (aged 18-24 years)
in Kisumu city. This was a cross-sectional analysis of 312 women screened for
participation in a phase 1 randomized placebo controlled microbicide trial. Prevalent
cases of gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis were identified through Nucleic acid
amplification test (NAAT), HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 were diagnosed
using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), syphilis was tested using rapid
plasma reagin (RPR) test , bacterial vaginosis was identified through Nugent scoring
criteria and yeast infection was identified through wet mount. Demographic
information and behavioral risk factors were assessed using structured
questionnaires. Data analysis was carried out using Epi InfoTM version 3.3. Results
showed that herpes simplex virus type 2 was the most prevalent STI at 30.4%, HIV
was 6.7%, in addition, non-classical STIs such as bacterial vaginosis and yeast
infection were diagnosed in 19.9% and 10.6% of the women, respectively. Neisseria
gonorrhoeae and syphilis had a prevalence of 0.6% while Chlamydia trachomatis
was 4.5%. In bivariate analysis results indicated that, sexual debut before 18 years of
age, HSV-2 sero-positivity, and low levels of education were associated with HIV
infection.
