International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 19, Number 12 > Pp. 824-832

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Original research articles

Genital tract infections among HIV-infected pregnant women in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia

S Aboud MD MMed ^* , G Msamanga MD SCD , J S Read MD MPH , A Mwatha MS , Y Q Chen PhD ^**, D Potter MBA , M Valentine PA-C MS , U Sharma PhD MPH , I Hoffmann PA MPH ^***, T E Taha MD PhD , R L Goldenberg DrPH MD  and W W Fawzi MD DrPH 

^* Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Community Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Pediatric, Adolescent, and Maternal AIDS Branch, NICHD, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD; Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention (SCHARP); ^** Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC), Seattle, WA; School of Public Health, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL; Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC; Prevention Sciences Program, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD; ^*** University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA; Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

Correspondence to: Dr S Aboud Email: aboudsaid{at}yahoo.com

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence and factors associated with genital tract infections among HIV-infected pregnant women from African sites. Participants were recruited from Blantyre and Lilongwe, Malawi; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Lusaka, Zambia. Genital tract infections were assessed at baseline. Of 2627 eligible women enrolled, 2292 were HIV-infected. Of these, 47.8% had bacterial vaginosis (BV), 22.4% had vaginal candidiasis, 18.8% had trichomoniasis, 8.5% had genital warts, 2.6% had chlamydia infection, 2.2% had genital ulcers and 1.7% had gonorrhoea. The main factors associated with genital tract infections included genital warts (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.8, 95% CI 1.2–2.7), genital ulcers (AOR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2–5.1) and abnormal vaginal discharge (AOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.9–3.3) for trichomoniasis. BV was the most common genital tract infection followed by candidiasis and trichomoniasis. Differences in burdens and risk factors call for enhanced interventions for identification of genital tract infections among HIV-infected women.

Key Words: sexually transmitted infections • genital tract infections • pregnant women • human immunodeficiency virus • Africa

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