Prevalence, clinical features and quantification of genital non-viral infections

We conducted a study of the prevalence, clinical features and microscopy findings, by retrospective case-notes survey, of six non-viral organisms, among 1718 attendees at a genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic in England. An in-house assay for six non-viral infections was used and quantitation of ureaplasmas performed. The prevalences of the six organisms were: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), 7.1%; Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), 0.6%; Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), 1.0%; Trichomonas vaginalis, 0.2%; Ureaplasma urealyticum, 16.1%; Ureaplasma parvum, 35.6%. Among men (but not women) there were significantly raised odds ratios compared with that for U. parvum, for the symptom of discharge with CT, 7.30; MG, 6.43; NG 19.29; dysuria with CT, 5.89 and MG, 5.95; and the microscopy finding of >4 pus cells per high power field with: CT, 7.22; MG, 4.58 and NG 22.31. Evaluation of a possible link between quantitation of U. urealyticum and urethritis did not confirm research findings elsewhere.