Investigation of a suspected outbreak of vaginal trichomoniasis among female inmates.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Female inmates have high rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and many incarcerated women and jail providers believe STDs are acquired within the jail. We investigated a suspected outbreak of trichomoniasis among female inmates and described the epidemiology of trichomonas infection.

GOALS OF THIS STUDY: To determine the likelihood of within-jail acquisition of trichomoniasis.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective chart review of gynecologic visits to the jail medical clinic and comparison of trichomoniasis surveillance data over a 6-year time period.

RESULTS

The minimum prevalence of trichomoniasis infection among 450 female inmates presenting to the medical clinic for gynecologic evaluation was 37%. Most infections were diagnosed early after incarceration, no woman developed a new infection after adequate treatment, and there was no clustering of cases by time or location.

CONCLUSION

There was no evidence to support within-jail acquisition of trichomoniasis. The high rate of trichomoniasis and other STDs among incarcerated women warrant more comprehensive jail-based STD screening programs.