Sexually transmitted infections in newly arrived refugees: is routine screening for Neisseria gonorrheae and Chlamydia trachomatis infection indicated?

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Feb;86(2):292-5. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0527.

Abstract

More than 340 million cases of bacterial and protozoal sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur annually. Approximately 70,000 refugees arrive in the United States on a yearly basis. Refugees are a particularly disenfranchised and vulnerable population. The prevalence of Chlamydia and gonorrhea in refugee populations has not been described, and the utility of routine screening is unknown. We performed a descriptive evaluation of 25,779 refugees who completed a screening medical examination in Minnesota during 2003-2010. A total of 18,516 (72%) refugees were tested for at least one STI: 183 (1.1%) of 17,235 were seropositive for syphilis, 15 (0.6%) of 2,512 were positive for Chlamydia, 5 (0.2%) of 2,403 were positive for gonorrhea, 136 (2.0%) of 6,765 were positive for human immunodeficiency virus, and 6 (0.1%) of 5,873 were positive for multiple STIs. Overall prevalence of Chlamydia (0.6%) and gonorrhea (0.2%) infection was low, which indicated that routine screening may not be indicated. However, further research on this subject is encouraged.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Chlamydia trachomatis / isolation & purification*
  • Chlamydia trachomatis / pathogenicity
  • Female
  • Gonorrhea / diagnosis
  • Gonorrhea / epidemiology*
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • HIV Infections / diagnosis
  • HIV Infections / epidemiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Minnesota / epidemiology
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / isolation & purification*
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / pathogenicity
  • Prevalence
  • Refugees*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Syphilis / diagnosis
  • Syphilis / epidemiology*
  • Young Adult