Routine testing of 440 women (257 Fijians, 183 Indians) at the first antenatal attendance identified Chlamydia trachomatis in 50% of Fijians and 38% of Indians; the seropositivity rates for syphilis were 14.2% and 1.7% respectively, and the isolation rates for N. gonorrhoeae were 3.1% in Fijians and 1.1% in Indians.
PIP: A total of 440 women under 28 weeks' gestation comprising 257 Fijians and 183 Indians attending the antenatal clinic at the Anderson Maternity Unit in Suva, Fiji, between November, 1985, and April, 1986, were selected for the study on their first visit. After an obstetric history was taken and a general physical examination performed, specimens for microbial studies were collected from the cervix and the posterior vaginal fornix. Blood was collected for serological tests for syphilis. Neisseria gonorrhea was identified on colonial morphology, Gram stain and oxidase reactivity. Specimens for Chlamydiazyme immunoassay test were stored at 40 C and tested within 5 days of collection. Tests for syphilis were performed using Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and treponema pallidum hemagglutination (TPHA) tests. Results for chlamydia are available for only 244, as this was introduced midway in the study. All STD pathogens were isolated in significantly higher rates from Fijian compared to Indian women p 0.01). Chlamydia trachomatis was the most common agent, affecting 50% of Fijian women and 37.5% of Indian women. Candida albicans was the next most common pathogen in both groups, accounting for 40%. Trichomonas vaginalis was found in 8.2% of both groups. N gonorrhea was isolated in 2.3% of the population studied. The average age of women with gonorrhea was 22 years, whereas the average age of the whole population studied was 26.1 years. They were also predominantly single or living in a consensual relationship. Group B beta hemolytic streptococci were identified in only 9 of the 440 women studied. Serological tests were interpreted to be positive for syphilis if both VDRL and TPHA were positive in the absence of a history of previous treatment for syphilis. The difference in infection rates of 14.2% for Fijians and 1.7% for Indians was highly significant (p 0.01).