Prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis in some Filipino women

Vaginal specimens obtained from 1,284 hospitality girls and 87 expectant mothers were examined for Trichomonas vaginalis by first examining material collected from vaginal swabs and after incubation in Feinberg and Whittington culture medium. Twenty-four percent of the specimens examined, shortly after the cotton-tip swab was placed into 1 ml culture medium, were positive by direct microscopic examination and 37% positive following 3 to 5 days incubation at 37 degrees C. Only 3 of the specimens from mothers were positive after the first examination and 4 positive after culture. These high prevalence rates are expected among hospitality girls and are the highest rates thus far reported from the Philippines. These results provide convincing evidence of the value of using cultural methods in determining prevalence rates for Trichomonas vaginalis infections in females.