High Co-Infection Rate of <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> and <i>Candidatus</i> Mycoplasma Girerdii in Gansu Province, China

oleh: Shuhui Xu, Zhixin Wang, Hang Zhou, Yongfeng Fu, Meng Feng, Xunjia Cheng

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-06-01

Deskripsi

<i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> (<i>Tv</i>) is a flagellated protist parasite that infects the human urogenital tract. The symbiotic relationship between <i>Tv</i> and <i>Mycoplasma hominis</i> has been reported. Recent studies have identified a new <i>Mycoplasma</i> strain, <i>Candidatus</i> Mycoplasma girerdii (<i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii), present in the vaginal secretions of women and have shown that this strain may be related to trichomoniasis. Here, we evaluated the presence of <i>Tv</i>, <i>M. hominis</i> and <i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii in 312 clinical samples from adult women diagnosed with vaginitis in Zhangye, Gansu province, China. Among these samples, 94, 153, and 48 were <i>Tv</i>, <i>M. hominis</i> and <i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii positive, respectively. Moreover, <i>Tv</i> was highly frequent in 17–30-year-old women in this region. Forty samples (83.3%) positive for <i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii were also positive for <i>Tv</i>. Six <i>Tv</i> isolates were successfully cultured, including five isolates that showed symbiotic relationships with <i>Mycoplasma</i>. This is the first report to evaluate the genetic characteristics of <i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii in China and may therefore provide insights into the effects of <i>Ca.</i> M. girerdii on the reproductive health of women.