GENITAL-TRACT INFECTIONS IN SEXUALLY ACTIVE WOMEN IN BARBADOS

Ninety-eight women attending three different clinics were prospectivel y studied for the presence of genital tract infections, including Chla mydia trachomatis. Of these 98 women, 35 were presenting to a polyclin ic with symptoms of genital tract infection, 55 were attending an ante natal clinic for their first visit, and 8 referred to a colposcopy cli nic because of an abnormal Papanicolaou smear were included. Gonorrhoe a was detected in one patient, syphilis in two, and Trichomonas vagina lis in six. Candida albicans and Chlamydia trachomatis were each detec ted in 18 patients, while the most common condition was bacterial vagi nosis, detected in 35 patients. The prevalence of these infections was lowest in patients referred for colposcopy and highest in the women a ttending the antenatal clinic. Chlamydia trachomatis was the most comm on sexually-transmitted pathogen detected in this population. These da ta emphasise the need for an aggressive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of chlamydial infection in females.