(50) HIV and STIs Flashcards
What is an STI?
Infections which are transmitted person-person by sexual contact - may be asymptomatic (men and women)
What is an STD?
STI but with evidence of disease (signs and symptoms)
Are gentile infectious diseases always sexually transmitted?
No, not all are acquired by sexual transmission (act may precipitate)
- normal vaginal commensal flora
- gasto-intestinal flora
What are the common bacteria causing STIs in the UK?
- N. gonorrhoea
- C. trachomatis
- ureaplasma
- mycoplasma
- (G. vaginalis)
- (anaerobes)
() = not STIs per se
What are the uncommon bacteria causing STIs in the UK?
- T. pallidum
- H. ducreyi
- K. granulomatis
- C. trachomatic (LGV)
What are the common viruses causing STIs in the UK?
- herpes simplex virus (HSV)
- human papilloma virus (HPV)
- pox virus (molluscum)
What are the uncommon viruses causing STIs in the UK?
- HIV
- Hepatitis B
Name a protozoa causing STIs in the UK?
- trichomonas vaginalis
Name a fungus causing STIs in UK?
(-candida albicans)
Name an ectoparasite causing STIs in UK?
- phthirus pubis (crabs)
- sarcoptes scabiei
Name 5 common STIs diagnosed at GUM clinics in England and Wales?
- chlamydia (44%)
- warts (35%)
- gonorrhoea (11%)
- herpes (9%)
- syphilis (1%)
Who are most at risk of being diagnosed with an STI?
Age group 16-24
How are STIs transmitted?
Mucous membrane contact/exchange of bodily fluids
STI organisms are often fastidious. What does this mean?
A fastidious organism is any organism that has a complex nutritional requirement - in this cases, don’t survive well out in the environment
In which infections are the sites of infection/disease predominantly local?
- T. vaginalis
- Chlamydia trachomatis
- HSV
- HPV
- Neisseria Gonorrhoea
In which infections are the sites of infection/disease mixed?
- syphilis (treponema pallidum)
In which infections are the sites of infection/disease not local?
- HIV
- HBV
Give the 2 way which STIs can spread
- sexual contact
- vertical transmission = mother to baby
How can STIs spread through sexual contact?
- male-female genitalia
- oro-genital
- male-male
- female-female
How can STIs spread vertically from mother to baby?
- in utero = transplacental
- peri-natal = passage through infected birth canal
- eye mucous membrane - conjunctivitis/keratitis
- present in breast milk
Give through common concepts concerning STIs/STDS
- risk of transmission/acquisition related to number of sexual partners (increased risk with use of non-barrier or no contraception)
- patients with one STD likely to have other STIs/STDs
- contract tracing very important (may be asymptomatic)
What is the cause of gonorrhoea (the clap)?
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Why type of organism is neisseria gonorrhoeae?
Gram negative coccus - diploccocus - in pairs (resemble coffee beans)
What are the other Neisseria species?
- N. meningitidis
- non-pathogenic neisseria species (normal commensal flora in throat and genital tract)
Neisseria gonorrhoea have pili on cell surface. Why?
Piliated cells more virulent
- increased ability to attach to mucosal epithelial cells
- primarily infect junction between columnar and cuboidal epithelium
(intracellular, phagocytosis, intracellular-multiplication)
Describe the structure of the neisseria gonorrhoea cell envelope
Has 3 layers like all gram negative bacteria
- inner cytoplasmic membrane
- thin peptidoglycan wall
- outer cytoplasmic membrane (lipo-oligosaccharides)
Where do gonorrhoea affect?
- GU tract
- rectum
- oropharynx
What is the incubation period of gonorrhoea?
2-5 days (short)
How often is gonorrhoea asymptomatic?
60% of women asymptomatic
What is a symptom of gonorrhoea?
- urethral discharge
- dysuria (stinging on passing urine)
What are the local complications of gonorrhoea?
- epididymitis
- prostatitis
- barthonilitis
- salpingitis
- PID
- peritonitis
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome (perihepatitis)
If a gonorrhoea patients has perihepatitis, they are usually co-infected with what?
C. trachomatis
What is barthonilitis?
Inflammation of one or both of the two Bartholin’s glands, which are located one on either side of the opening of the vagina
What is salpingitis?
Inflammation of the fallopian tubes
What is DGI?
Disseminated gonococcal infection - more widespread metastatic disease caused by gonorrhoea
How often does DGI occur?
0.5-3% of untreated cases - increased with certain strains
Up to 13% of DGI is due to complement deficiency
What are the complications of disseminated gonococcal infection?
- bacteraemia
- arthritis
- dermatitis
- (meningitis)
What can gonorrhoea in pregnancy cause?
- spontaneous abortion
- premature labour
What can gonorrhoea cause in the neonate?
- ophthalmia neonatorum
- acute purulent conjunctivitis less than 5 days post-delivery
- can cause blindness if not treated appropriately
Name 3 methods of gonorrhoea diagnosis
- microscopy
- culture
- nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) eg. PCR
How is gonorrhoea diagnosed by microscopy?
- urethral swab (male)
- GNID = gram-negative intracellular diplococci
- high sensitivity/specificity
How is gonorrhoea diagnosed by culture?
- selective plates (because fastidious) for 48 hours
- endocervical (columnar epithelial cells) (not high vaginal) - sens = 80-90%
- OR urethral swab, sens over 95% in men
- high specificity (confirm no n. meningitidis/other spp)
- antibiotic sensitivity testing (typing)
How is NAAT e.g. PCR used in gonorrhoea diagnosing?
- multiplexed with C. trachomatis
- urine/vaginal swab
- specificity over 99%
- positive predictive value over 95% if prevalence 0.5%
What is multiplex PCR?
A modification of polymerase chain reaction in order to rapidly detect deletions or duplications in a large gene. This process amplifies genomic DNA samples using multiple primers and a temperature-mediated DNA polymerase in a thermal cycler
Give 3 antibiotic types used in the treatment of gonorrhoea
- B-lactams
- cephalosporins
- fluoroquinolones
Give examples of B-lactams used in the treatment of gonorrhoea
- benzylpenicillin
- amoxicillin
How did gonorrhoea develop resistance to B-lactams in the 1970s?
- B-lactamase
- PBP change (penicillin-binding proteins)
Name 2 cephalosporins used in the treatment of gonorrhoea
- cefixime (oral)
- ceftriaxone (IV or IM route)
Name a fluoroquinolone used in the treatment of gonorrhoea
- ciprofloxacin (but increased resistance)
Name 3 other antibiotics used in the treatment of gonorrhoea (other than B-lactams, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones)
- spectinomycin
- azithromycin
- tetracycline (but widespread resistance)
Name 2 antibiotics used in the treatment of gonorrhoea, that as of 2007 had 0% total resistance
- ceftriaxone
- spectinomycin
What is the recommend treatment of gonorrhoea according to BASHH 2011?
- Std: ceftriaxone 0.5mg IM
- and azithromycin 1g PO
- and all cases “test of cure”
What is a problem with cefixime/ceftriaxone?
Decreased susceptibility. High level of resistant strains in some areas recently, eg. Japan, France 2011
What is NGU?
Non-gonococcal urethritis
What organisms can cause non-gonococcal urethritis?
- mostly chlamydia trachomatis types D-K
- ureaplasma urealyticum (mycoplasma genitalium)
- trichomonas vaginalis
etc.
What is the incubation period in NGU?
1-2 weeks
How is NGU diagnosed?
- currently NAAT for chlamydia
formerly enzyme immunoassay:EIA/ELISA
How is NGU treated?
- doxycycline
- macrolides eg. erythromycin, azithromycin
Describe the chlamydia trachomatis bacteria
- obligate intracellular pathogen
- gram-negative
- ovoid in shape and non-motile
Chlamydia trachomatis has a unique lifestyle that includes which 2 stages?
- extracellular infectious form = elementary body
- intracellular replicative form = reticulate body
What are the target cells for chlamydia trachomatis?
- squamo-columnar epithelial cells of endocervix/upper genital tract in females
- conjunctiva, urethra and rectum in males and females
- also respiratory tract cells in infants
Which age groups have highest rates of chlamydia?
- women = 16-19
- men = 20-24
What is the prevalence of chlamydia in the UK?
- 16-44yr olds: 1.5% of sexually experiences females, 1.1% males
- 16-24yr olds: 3.1% of females, 2.3% males
Who is screened (ie. asymptomatic) for chlamydia in the National Chlamydia Screening Programme?
All sexually active under 25 year olds, annually, or on change of partner
What happens if somebody tests positive for chlamydia?
They are treated and then re-tested 3 months post-treatment (10-15% will be positive due to new/re-acquisition or very rarely, treatment failure)
What else is important in positive chlamydia tests?
Partner notification
What are the symptoms of chlamydia?
- often asymptomatic (female more than male)
- urethritis (but less purulent discharge than gonococcal)
- cervicitis (mucopurulent)
- dysuria/frequency (a cause of “acute urethral syndrome” - sterile pyuria on standard urinalysis)
What do you see at the cervix in chlamydia cervicitis?
- cervical friability (easily irritated and inflamed and can bleed)
- oedema
- ectopy
What are the complications associated with chlamydial infection?
- pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- epididymitis (2%)
- complications in neonate/infant
- conjunctivitis
- Reiter’s syndrome
How often does PID occur in chlamydia?
Over 9.5% within one year, without treatment
When PID occurs in chlamydia, what other complications can it be related to?
- perihepatitis (spread of infection from PID)
- tubal infertility (10.6% of PID)
- ectopic pregnancy
- chronic pain
What problems in the neonate/infant can chlamydia cause?
- conjunctivitis (later onset than with N. gonorrhoeae - 5-12 days)
- infant pneumonia (usually present at 4-11 weeks)