Periodical antibiotic treatment for the control of gonococcal and chlamydial infections among sex workers in Benin and Ghana: a cluster-randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Background: In resource-poor settings, control of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among female sex workers (FSWs) is difficult. We sought to determine whether periodical antibiotic treatment (PAT) might be effective in controlling these infections among West African FSWs. Secondary objectives were to determine the impact of PAT on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence among FSWs and on NG/CT prevalence among their clients.

[Female sex workers in Benin, 2002. Behavioural survey and HIV and other STI screening].

Background: As part of an HIV prevention program aimed at female sex workers (FSWs) and their male clients in Benin, we conducted a survey combining laboratory testing and a behavioural questionnaire in 2002 to estimate the prevalence of HIV, Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and to determine the social, demographic and behavioral factors associated with these infections. The study provided a follow-up of the epidemiological situation in Cotonou, Benin's largest city, where the intervention began in 1993 with the collection of baseline data; it also collected such data for three other cities in Benin, to which the intervention was being extended in 2002.

Design And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 723 self-identified FSWs aged at least 15 years: 474 recruited in Cotonou, 128 in Porto-Novo, 42 in Abomey-Bohicon and 79 in Parakou.

Interventions among male clients of female sex workers in Benin, West Africa: an essential component of targeted HIV preventive interventions.

Objectives: To assess the impact of interventions targeted towards female sex workers (FSWs) and their male clients on client HIV/STI prevalence and sexual behaviour.

Methods: From 1993 to 2006, an HIV/STI preventive intervention focusing on condom promotion and STI care was implemented among FSWs in Cotonou, Benin, and then expanded to cover their male sexual partners in 2000. The interventions were scaled up to five other cities of Benin in 2001-2002.

Mycoplasma genitalium: an organism commonly associated with cervicitis among west African sex workers.

Objectives: To identify the contribution of Mycoplasma genitalium to the aetiology of cervicitis in sub-Saharan Africa and its relative importance in the overall burden of sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers (FSW).

Methods: The study population consisted of FSW recruited in Ghana and Benin during the initial visit of a randomised controlled trial. A questionnaire was administered, a pelvic examination carried out, and cervical samples obtained for detection of M genitalium, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis.

Low prevalence of cervical infections in women with vaginal discharge in west Africa: implications for syndromic management.

Objectives: To measure prevalence and risk factors for cervical infections among a large sample of women consulting for vaginal discharge in west Africa and to evaluate its syndromic management through a two visit algorithm.

Methods: In 11 health centres in Bénin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinée, and Mali 726 women who presented with a vaginal discharge without abdominal pain and who denied being a sex worker (SW) were enrolled. Cervical samples were tested for the detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays.