Trichomoniasis Increases Risk for HIV Infection in Women

Although ulcerative and non-ulcerative sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are generally known to increase the risk for HIV infection, the data on trichomoniasis have been less conclusive. Of the seven prospective studies conducted to date, only one showed a statistically significant association (Lancet 1994; 344:246); however, the null results in the others could have been due to small sample sizes. In a meta-analysis of these studies, infection with Trichomonas vaginalis was found to increase women’s risk for HIV-1 acquisition by 50% (Sex Transm Dis 2001; 28:579).

Now, investigators have evaluated this association using data from a prospective study of female commercial sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya. Of the 1579 HIV-seronegative women e…