Bacterial Vaginosis and Sexually Transmitted Infections in an HIV-Positive Cohort

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIVand AIDS (UNAIDS) suggest that sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance shouldinclude other genital infections and not only human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Tomonitor the concomitance of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and STIs in HIV-seropositive (HIV+)and HIV-seronegative (HIV–) patients, a prospective study was conducted in a cohort of349 volunteers at a clinic specializing in treating STIs in Mexico City. Microbiological andmolecular methods were used to detect STIs and dysbiosis in HIV+ and HIV– individuals.The prevalence of infection was higher in HIV+ (69.28%) than in HIV– (54.87%)individuals. BV was the most frequent infection in HIV+ individuals, and polymicrobialinfections were 3 times more common in HIV+ individuals than in HIV– individuals (31.48vs. 10.98%). Behaviors documented in a self-administered questionnaire included lowcondom use frequency in HIV+ individuals co-infected with BV or a STI. This findinghighlights the importance of surveillance using routine microbiological evaluations for thecorrect management of genital infections in HIV+ patients because in the presence ofHIV, the clinical presentations, courses, and therapeutic responses of some STIs candiffer from those in patients without HIV infection.