Epidemiology of Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis in the primary health care setting in the Netherlands

Epidemiol Infect. 2023 May 5:151:e79. doi: 10.1017/S095026882300064X.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium and Trichomonas vaginalis in patients who visited general practitioners in the Netherlands. Additionally, we describe the prevalence of M. genitalium resistance to azithromycin and moxifloxacin. We used data from 7,411 consecutive female patients who were screened for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, M. genitalium, and T. vaginalis and data from 5,732 consecutive male patients screened for C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, and M. genitalium. The prevalence of M. genitalium and T. vaginalis in female patients was 6.7% (95% CI: 6.2 to 7.4) and 1.9% (95%CI: 1.6 to 2.2%), respectively. M. genitalium prevalence in male patients was 3.7% (3.3 to 4.3). M. genitalium co-occurred with C. trachomatis in 1.4% (0.3 to 0.6%) of female and in 0.7% (0.5 to 0.9) of male patients. Macrolide resistance gene mutations and fluoroquinolone resistance gene mutations were detected in 73.8% and 9.9%, respectively. We concluded that M.genitalium is relatively infrequently found in a large general practitioner population in the Netherlands. It can co-occur with C. trachomatis, and is often resistant to azithromycin. Therefore, when treating sexually transmitted infections, these prevalence and resistance data should be taken into account.

Keywords: Mycoplasma genitalium; PCR; Trichomonas vaginalis; diseases; prevalence; primary health care; sexually transmitted.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Azithromycin / therapeutic use
  • Chlamydia trachomatis* / drug effects
  • Chlamydia trachomatis* / genetics
  • Coinfection
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial* / genetics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Macrolides
  • Male
  • Mycoplasma Infections* / diagnosis
  • Mycoplasma Infections* / drug therapy
  • Mycoplasma Infections* / epidemiology
  • Mycoplasma genitalium* / drug effects
  • Mycoplasma genitalium* / genetics
  • Neisseria gonorrhoeae / genetics
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Prevalence
  • Primary Health Care
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases* / epidemiology
  • Trichomonas Vaginitis* / diagnosis
  • Trichomonas Vaginitis* / drug therapy
  • Trichomonas Vaginitis* / epidemiology
  • Trichomonas vaginalis* / genetics

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Azithromycin
  • Macrolides