Sexually Transmitted Infections Flashcards
How many new STIs each year?
~500 million
What are the 6 factors for why STIs cause such a burden of disease?
- Often asymptomatic
- Stigma about getting tested/unaware
- Often incurable/long term infections
- Lack of education/disempowerment
- People unwilling to change behaviour/behaviours private
- People like having sex
What are 2 important considerations to have towards STIs?
Generally fragile organisms involved
- survive poorly outside of the body
- transmission requires close contact and/or direct transmission of bodily fluids
May have multiple infections at once
- one infection may increase susceptibility to other infections
If you have one STI already how does that impact the ability of transmission of HIV?
HIV transmission increases by 5-10 times
What are the 6 most common bacterial causes of STIs?
Chlamydia trachomatis Neisseria gonorrhoea Treponema pallidum Haemophilus ducreyi Mycoplasma genitalium Gardnerella vaginalis
What are the 4 most common viral causes of STIs?
HIV
HSP
HPV
HBV
What is the most common fungal cause of STIs?
Candida albicans
What is most common protozoan cause of STIs?
Trichomonas vaginalis
Describe cervicitis and urethritis
Inflammation of cervix and urethra
Symptoms: dysuria, itching, +/- discharge
Which organisms cause cervicitis and urethritis?
N. gonorrhoea
C. trachomatis
M. genitalium
HSV
Describe vaginosis
Disrupted vaginal flora
Symptoms: unpleasant odour and/or vaginal discharge
Which organisms cause vaginosis?
T. vaginalis
C. albicans
G. vaginalis
Which organisms cause genital ulcers?
HSV
C. trachomatis
T. pallidum
H. ducreyi
Describe pelvic inflammatory disease
Symptoms: chronic pelvic pain, fallopian tube damage, infertility
Which organisms cause pelvic inflammatory disease?
C. trachomatis
N. gonorrhoea
G. vaginalis
Mycoplasma hominis
Effects of HIV
> 40 million people infected
~1 million deaths/year
Effects of HSV
> 500 million people infected
~20 million new infections/year
Effects of HPV
~30 million infections/year
~250,000 cancer deaths/year
Effects of HBV
> 200 million people infected
Describe HIV
HIV-1 and HIV-2
Retrovirus of the lentivirus family
Encode a reverse transcriptase (pol gene)
What is HIV the causative agent of?
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
What does HIV infect?
CD4+ cells
- T helper cells, monocytes
- Dendritic cells
- Microglia
How is HIV transmitted?
Transmitted in body fluids Non-sexual - blood - mother to child (vertical transmission) Sexual - male to male - male to female - female to male
What is the most common transmission of HIV in Africa and Asia?
Female to male transmission
Describe HIV pathogenesis
Initial acute phase: - Massive loss of CD4+ T cells -> profoundly weakens the immune system - Stage lasts for a few weeks Second chronic phase: - HIV replication checked by immune system -> chronic immune activation -> increasing threat of opportunistic infection - Stage lasts for several years
Describe AIDS onset
A wide array of disease associated with HIV-induced immune compromise
Infections often in unusual tissues
How is HIV treated?
Treated with drugs that mostly target the reverse transcriptase step of HIV replication
- Nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs)
- Non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs)
Also protease inhibitors and fusion inhibitors
Current use of combined therapy
- Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
Describe HSV
Caused by herpes simplex virus
Double-stranded DNA virus, large genome
Describe HSV-1
Generally transmitted by saliva
Oral cold sores ~70% seroprevalence in adults
Accounts for 50% of new genital herpes causes in developed countries
Describe HSV-2
Generally transmitted by sexual contact
Genital blisters/ulcers
How is HSV acquired?
Through close contact
- from an infected person shedding virus
- via skin contact or genital secretions
Describe HSV pathogenesis
HSV replicates initially in epithelial cells
- fluid filled blisters contain: detached epithelial cells, inflammatory cells, virions
The HSV penetrates dermis and enters sensory nerve axons
- enters latent stage, persistence for life
What are the steps involved in HSV pathogenesis?
- Initial entry to epithelial cells
- lytic replication - enters sensory neuron
- travels to nucleus - periodic reactivation
- shedding back to epithelial cells
How many HSV infections are asymptomatic?
~70%
Describe primary lesions in HSV infection
They form 4-7 days after initial infection
Usually on penis, vulva (but may be intravaginal)
Symptoms: pain, itching, burning at site, dysuria
Overall symptoms: +/- fever, low grade headache, malaise, myalgias, inguinal lymphadenitis
How long do lesions from HSV take to heal?
3-4 weeks
How common are recurrent infections in HSV?
70-90% have recurrence within 1 year
Less severe than initial episode
Compare and contrast primary lesions and recurrent lesions
Primary lesions - multiple, widespread lesions at different stages Recurrent lesions - typically grouped - identical stages of development
What are serious consequences of neonatal HSV?
Skin and eye disease
Cognitive impairment
Organ dysfunction
Death
How to prevent neonatal HSV from a mother with lesions?
Elective caesar
How do we diagnose HSV?
Initial diagnosis through clinical symptoms
Confirm by laboratory tests
- swab base of genital lesion, vesicle fluid
- send swab in viral culture medium
What are 3 methods of diagnosing HSV?
Viral culture
- poor sensitivity, HSV in <50% of recurrent lesions
PCR
- faster and ~4-times more sensitive than culture
HSV antigen detection
- Type specific IgG (HSV-1, -2) against glycoproteinG