Abstract

One hundred randomly selected women attending a free government antenatal clinic in the town of Bakau, The Gambia, were examined. Vaginal swabs were taken for microscopical examination for Trichomonas vaginalis and for culture on Sabouraud's medium. Cervical swabs were taken for culture of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis and, in 50 cases, Herpesvirus hominis; in addition, urethral swabs were taken for culture of N gonorrhoeae. Serum samples were tested for antibodies to Treponema pallidum by the Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and T pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA), and to C trachomatis and H hominis by microimmunofluorescence. The prevalence of infection with Candida albicans was found to be 35%, T vaginalis 32%, C trachomatis 6.9%, N gonorrhoeae 6.7%, T pallidum 1%, and H hominis 0%. IgG antibodies at a titre of at least 1/16 to C trachomatis serotypes D-K were found in 29.4%, and to serotypes A-C in a further 10.6%. IgG antibodies at a titre of at least 1/16 to H hominis type I were found in 94%, and to type II in 53%, although a proportion of the latter probably represent cross reacting antibodies to type I.