Introduction: Sexually transmitted diseases due to a sexual abuse cause are rarely documented in black Africa. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the existence of sexual abuse in young girls with gonorrhea observed in Lome (Togo).
Patients and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to document cases of sexually transmitted diseases diagnosed in young children (0 to 11 years of age) seen at the dermato-venereology unit of the Lome teaching hospital over a 20 month period. Syphilis serology (TPHA-VDRL) and HIV serology were carried out for all children with sexually transmitted disease and repeated after two weeks for TPHA-VDRL, and three months for HIV serology in children who had been sexually abused.
Results: During this period, 13 of 33 cases of sexually transmitted diseases diagnosed in young children were gonorrhea (mean age 7.2 +/- 2.7 years). It was due to sexual abuse in 12 cases (all in young girls). The abuser was a domestic employee in the child's home (n =3), a member of the child's family (n =7), an educator (n =1), a neighbor (n =1). Mean age of the alleged authors of sexual abuse was 25.7 +/- 5.5 years. Syphilis serology was negative, but one case of HIV infection in a 10-year-old girl was observed with identification of the contaminator.
Conclusion: The results of this study confirm that sexual abuse in children is not an uncommon occurrence in black Africa and that it often leads to gonorrhea. The classic consequences of such abuse are aggravated by the high prevalence of HIV infection observed in the majority of the countries in black Africa.