High seroprevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in newly diagnosed human immunodeficiency virus patients in georgia.

Due to the shared routes of transmission, co-infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is common. There is strong evidence of bidirectional interactions between HIV and ulcerative STIs. Recent studies have also shown importance of non-ulcerative inflammatory STIs in the acquisition of HIV. The incidence of HIV and Chlamydia in Georgia has risen every year. We explored the extent of the problem of co-infection with C. trachomatis in HIV patients in the country. Study included 234 consecutive patients diagnosed with HIV from September 2008 through May 2009. Of them, approximately two-thirds were male 162 (69.23%), up to 44% (102) of patients had more than one lifetime sexual partner and one fifth of patients reported prior history of STIs. The seroprevalence of C. trachomatis in our study was 23.93% (95% CI: 18.61%-29.92%). In multivariate analysis the strongest predictors of C. trachomatis infection were history of STI (PR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.22-3.07) and female gender (PR 1.79, 95% CI: 1.11-2.87), while younger age and not being in marriage showed borderline significance. Findings of our study have important public health and clinical implications. Data suggest that STIs may play important role in increasing heterosexual transmission of HIV in Georgia. Efforts should be made to expand HIV screening programs. Further research is needed to better understand the role of inflammatory STIs in spreading HIV.