Prevalence of Gonorrhea Among Pregnant Women in Nigeria: Reproductive Health Implication

Abstract

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including gonorrhea are a major reproductive health issue. Gonorrhea is a disease caused by Neisseria gonorrhea bacteria and is the one of the causes of PID in women. The global prevalence of gonorrhea is estimated to be at 0.9% which is high. This paper sought to provide updated information on the prevalence of gonorrhea infection and to discuss the reproductive health implications. Methods: literature search using PubMED, Google Scholar and Medline was conducted. Studies included were cross sectional studies reporting the prevalence of gonorrhea in Nigeria, conducted from 2000 to 2021. The population from the various studies analyzed was 1725 women of reproductive age between 15 and 45 years. Findings: the prevalence of gonorrhea was found to be 2.0% in the East, 5.2%, 5.0% and 0.7% in the South, 3.4% in the West and 16.3% in the North. The reproductive health implication is that untreated STIs leads to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and may further result to infertility and part of the goal for most couple is to reproduce. Treating PID is one of the most difficult task for clinicians thus except gonorrhea is combated the problem of infertility will not be ameliorated and thereby achieving safer birth and better reproductive health outcomes will almost be near impossible.