Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016:2016:4980417.
doi: 10.1155/2016/4980417. Epub 2016 Mar 30.

The Prevalence of Syphilis Infection and Its Associated Factors in the General Population of Rwanda: A National Household-Based Survey

Mwumvaneza Mutagoma  1 , Eric Remera  1 , Dieudonné Sebuhoro  1 , Steve Kanters  2 , David J Riedel  3 , Sabin Nsanzimana  4
Affiliations

The Prevalence of Syphilis Infection and Its Associated Factors in the General Population of Rwanda: A National Household-Based Survey

Mwumvaneza Mutagoma et al. J Sex Transm Dis. 2016.

Abstract

Background. The prevalence of syphilis among HIV-infected people is a public health concern, but there is limited literature to describe the true burden of syphilis in resource-limited settings. We conducted this survey in 2013 to estimate the prevalence of syphilis. Methods. A cross-sectional survey. Participants were tested for syphilis and HIV. Factors associated with syphilis infection were identified. Results. The prevalence of syphilis was 0.9% (95% CI: 0.7-1.1). This prevalence was higher in the 25-49-year-old age (1.1% [95% CI: 0.8-1.3]) than in the 15-24-year-old age (0.6% (95% CI: 0.4-0.9)). Women with lower education had a higher prevalence of syphilis (1.2% (95% CI: 0.9-1.5)) compared to others (0.4% (95% CI: 0.2-0.8)). This prevalence among HIV-infected people was six times higher: 4.8% (95% CI: 2.9-7.9) compared to HIV-negative people (0.8% (95% CI: 0.6-1.0)). The prevalence of syphilis among HIV-infected females was 5.9% (95% CI: 3.4-10.0). HIV-infected or concurrent sexual partners was associated with increased syphilis prevalence with aOR = 4.2 (95% CI: 2.5-7.2) and aOR = 4.2 (95% CI: 2.8-6.5), respectively. Conclusions. The prevalence of syphilis was significantly higher among HIV-infected patients. HIV infection and concurrent sexual partners are associated with an increased prevalence of syphilis. Preventing HIV might help in preventing syphilis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selected villages in AIDS indicator and HIV incidence survey, Rwanda 2013.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Incidence and Prevalence of Selected Curable Sexually Transmitted Infections. World Health Organization; 2012.
    1. Fenton K. A., Breban R., Vardavas R., et al. Infectious syphilis in high-income settings in the 21st century. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2008;8(4):244–253. doi: 10.1016/s1473-3099(08)70065-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. French P. Syphilis. BMJ. 2007;334(7585):143–147. doi: 10.1136/bmj.39085.518148.be. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tucker J. D., Bu J., Brown L. B. Accelerating worldwide syphilis screening through rapid testing: a systematic review. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2010;10(6):381–386. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(10)70092-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kimberly A. W., Berman S. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines, 2010. MMWR Recommendations and Reports. 2010;59(12):1–110. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources