VULVO-VAGINAL CANDIDIASIS AND TRICHOMONIASIS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTE-NATAL CLINIC AT IMO STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL ORLU

Abstract

The prevalence of vulvo-vaginal candidiasis and trichomoniasis amongst pregnant women attending ante-natal care clinic at Imo State University Teaching Hospital Orlu was studied from July to December, 2013. High vaginal swab (HVS) and mid-stream early morning urine were collected from pregnant women on ante natal days at the ante natal clinic of the hospital. The samples were taken to the Microbiology Laboratory, Imo State University Teaching Hospital Orlu and analyzed bacteriologically by culture technique and parasitological by microscopic examination of urine deposits, stained and unstained smears of HVS. Simple structured questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic and medical records. The data obtained from the questionnaires and laboratory examinations of the samples were analyzed statistically using chi square and simple percentage analysis. The results showed that out of 414 pregnant women aged 18 to 45 years, 240 (58%) were infected with candidiasis and Trichomoniasis; 214 (51.7%) were infected with different species of Candida and 30 (7.2%) were infected with Trichomonas vaginalis. Of the 30 pregnant women infected with Trichomonas vaginalis, 12 (2.7%) had concomitant infection of trichomoniasis and candidiasis. The most prevalent Candida amongst the pregnant women was Candida albicans (38.4%) followed by Candida krusei (10.1%) and Candida tropicalis (8.7%). Age related prevalence of infection showed that those aged 18-25 years had the highest prevalence of infection (69.9%), followed by those aged 36-45 years (56.1%) while those aged 26-35 years had the least prevalence of infection