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Prevalence of pharyngeal Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae among heterosexual men in Japan

  • Original Article
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Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy

Abstract

Pharyngeal chlamydial and gonococcal infections can occur as a consequence of oral sex, and they also can be transmitted from the pharynx to the genital tract of sex partners. There have been many reports on the prevalence of pharyngeal Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in men who have sex with men; however, there have been few reports on the prevalence of these pathogens in the pharynges of heterosexual men. In this study, we determined the prevalence of pharyngeal C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in 42 heterosexual men diagnosed with urethritis. Pharyngeal swabs and first-voided urine specimens were tested using the Gen-Probe APTIMA Combo 2 transcription-mediated amplification assay. The prevalence of pharyngeal C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae in patients with urethritis was 2.4 % (1/42) and 11.9 % (5/42), respectively. Among patients with either chlamydial or gonococcal urethritis, 9.1 % (1/11) and 25.0 % (5/20) had pharyngeal C. trachomatis or N. gonorrhoeae, respectively. Our results suggest that screening for pharyngeal colonization by N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis using validated nucleic acid amplification tests should be performed in heterosexual men diagnosed with urethritis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan

    Koichiro Wada, Shinya Uehara, Ritsuko Mitsuhata, Reiko Kariyama, Hiroyuki Nose, Ayano Ishii, Toyohiko Watanabe, Akira Matsumoto & Hiromi Kumon

  2. Araki Urology Clinic, 390-1 3F, Sasaoki, Kurashiki, 710-0834, Japan

    Koichi Monden & Tohru Araki

  3. Hiroshima Clinic, 1041-4 Higashi-hiroshima, Higashi-ku, Okayama, 709-0631, Japan

    Satoru Uno

  4. Okayama Urological Research Group (OURG), 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan

    Koichiro Wada, Shinya Uehara, Hiroyuki Nose, Shinichi Sako, Ayano Ishii, Toyohiko Watanabe, Koichi Monden, Satoru Uno, Tohru Araki & Hiromi Kumon

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  1. Koichiro Wada
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  2. Shinya Uehara
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  3. Ritsuko Mitsuhata
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  4. Reiko Kariyama
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  5. Hiroyuki Nose
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  6. Shinichi Sako
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  7. Ayano Ishii
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  8. Toyohiko Watanabe
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  9. Akira Matsumoto
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  10. Koichi Monden
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  11. Satoru Uno
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  12. Tohru Araki
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  13. Hiromi Kumon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Koichiro Wada.

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Wada, K., Uehara, S., Mitsuhata, R. et al. Prevalence of pharyngeal Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae among heterosexual men in Japan. J Infect Chemother 18, 729–733 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-012-0410-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-012-0410-y

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