Researchers from the UK suggest that a new sexually transmitted infection (STI) could have affected hundreds of thousands of adults. The bacterial culprit is Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), which causes minimal clinical manifestations but is now being considered as a pathogen that could be transmitted via sexual contact.
There have been no large-scale epidemiological researches that delve into MG's prevalence, clinical presentation and risk factors, involving the general population with broad-spectrum age range.
In the past, MG has been determined to cause genital discharge, testicular pain for men and pelvic pain and bleeding after sexual intercourse in women. However, such symptoms are very rarely observed as most people do not develop symptoms at all. Experts also believed that MG is associated with infertility, ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Now, Public Health England (PHE) consultant clinical epidemiology expert Nigel Field said he and his colleagues discovered additional evidence that MG is an STI.
The researchers performed the study by conducting the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) from 2010 to 2012. The British probability sample survey tested urine samples of 4,507 study subjects aged 16 to 44 years old, who were all "sexually experienced."
The results of the examination revealed that about one percent of the participants were positive for MG. Women who carry MG were also found to most likely experience bleeding after sexual intercourse.
The study contributes to the growing evidence that MG causes infection in both men and women. However, more than 90 percent of men and more than 50 percent of women with the bacteria did not exhibit symptoms. The probable reason for this is that MG does not cause illness or clinical disruptions in individuals.
"These findings suggest that only testing those who are currently symptomatic would miss the majority of infections," said Pam Sonnenberg, the lead author of the study. She added that additional investigations should be made to comprehend the clinical effects of the infection, as well as the potential long-term complications involved.
"Further research in clinical and community-based settings, including those that explore sexual networks, the molecular epidemiology of MG, age mixing and other partnership factors across a range of STIs, will elucidate the transmission dynamics of MG," the authors wrote.
Field said PHE has already started a national survey to monitor MG diagnoses and will persist to obtain information to inform protocols on infection control.
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on Nov. 3, 2015.
Photo: Robert Elyov | Flickr
