Table 3. Summary of epidemiological data on classical STI prevalences from surveys of the general population and women attending antenatal, family planning and child immunisation clinics in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal, % (95% CI).
| Data collection year and population characteristics | Mean age (range) | Sex | n | NG | CT | TV | Reference | ||
| Serological TP (TPHA+/RPR⩾1:1) | High titre active TP (TPHA+/RPR⩾1:8) | ||||||||
| Median female prevalence (range): | |||||||||
| All | F | 5.8 (4.0 to 10.0) | 10.0 (6.4 to 13.5) | 8.5 (2.0 to 11.9) | |||||
| 1987–1995 | F | 5.7 (4.9 to 5.8) | 8.9 (6.4 to 11.4) | 11.9 (8.5 to 11.9) | |||||
| 1996–2004 | F | 6.9 (4.0 to 10.0) | 10.9 (7.4 to 13.5) | 29.4 (15.8 to 36.8) | 7.0 (2.0 to 8.5) | 3.2 (2.0 to 3.6) | |||
| 1987, peripheral hospital ANC in Empangeni | 26 (15 to 42) | F | 193 | 5.7 (2.9 to 10.0)* | 11.4 (7.3 to 16.7)† | 11.9 (7.7 to 17.3) | 15 | ||
| 1995, general population in R Hlabisa | 28 SD = 9.4 | M | 90 | 2.3 (0.3 to 8.2)‡ | 5.6 (1.8 to 12.5)‡ | 9.3 (4.1 to 17.5) | 16 | ||
| F | 140 | 5.8 (2.6 to 11.2)‡ | 6.4 (3.0 to 11.9)‡ | 8.5 (4.4 to 14.3) | |||||
| 1995, ANC in Hlabisa | F | 327 | 4.9 (2.8 to 7.8)* | 8.9 (6.0 to 12.5)† | 11.9 (8.6 to 15.9) | Sturm, personal communication, 2005 | |||
| 1996, 4 ANCs (serving 1 TC, 1 PU, 2 R) in Hlabisa | 25 SD = 6.6 | F | 271 | 7.8 (4.9 to 11.6)* | 12.9 (9.2 to 17.5)† | 8.4 (5.5 to 12.5) | 17 | ||
| 1997§, Hlabisa hospital FP serving a TC | 25 SD = 6.0 | F | 189 | 4.2 (1.8 to 8.2)* | 7.4 (4.1 to 12.1)† | 7.9 (4.5 to 12.8) | 19 | ||
| 1998/00, all Hlabisa sub-district ANCs | F | 474 | 3.6 (2.1 to 5.7)¶ | 18 | |||||
| 1999, ANC at KwaMsane in Hlabisa sub-district, serving R & PU KzN | 27 SD = 5.4 | F | 245 | 6.9 (4.1 to 10.9)** | 11.0 (7.4 to 15.6)** | 31.8 (26.1 to 38.1)†† | 6.1 (3.5 to 9.9) | 2.0 (0.7 to 4.7) | Unpublished, Moodley, 2005 |
| 1999/00, ANC recruited for neonatal outcome follow-up at KwaMsane | F | 650 | 10.0 (7.8 to 12.6)* | 9.1 (7.0 to 11.6)† | Unpublished, Moodley, 2005 | ||||
| 2002, ANC in Hlabisa | F | 449 | 4.0 (2.4 to 6.3)** | 10.9 (8.2 to 14.2)** | 26.9 (22.9 to 31.3)†† | 2.0 (0.9 to 3.8) | 20; Sturm, personal communication, 2005 | ||
| 2003, FP/IMM at 3 clinics in Hlabisa sub-district‡‡ | 29 (15–49) | F | 346 | 5.6 (3.4 to 8.6)** | 7.4 (4.8 to 10.7)** | 15.8 (12.1 to 20.1)†† | 3.2 (1.6 to 5.7) | Unpublished, McGrath, 2005 | |
| 2004§, ANC at KwaMsane PHC in Hlabisa sub-district | 25 SD = 6.0 | F | 185 | 7.6 (4.2 to 12.4)§§ | 13.5 (8.9 to 19.3)¶¶ | 36.8 (29.8 to 44.1)*** | 21 |
Unadjusted for sample and diagnostic differences. Black horizontal line shows the timing of the introduction of syndromic STI treatment services.
*Culture on swabs; †immunofluoresence on swab ‡LCR on urine; §year published; ¶RPR⩾1:8 only, estimated from published data; **strand displacement assay; ††PCR; ‡‡a predominately HIV uninfected and low mobility population enrolled in microbicide feasibility study; §§culture and molecular methods on tampon and swab and urine; ¶¶molecular methods on tampon and swab and urine; ***culture and molecular methods on tampon and urine.
ANC, antenatal clinic; CT, Chlamydia trachomatis; F, female; FP, family planning clinic; HD, Haemophilus ducreyi; HSV-2, herpes simplex virus type 2; IMM, child immunisation clinic; KzN, KwaZulu-Natal; LGV, Lympho-granuloma venereum; M, male; NG, Neisseria gonorrhoeae; PU, peri-urban; R, rural; RPR, rapid plasma reagin; SD, standard deviation; STI, sexually transmitted infection; TC, trading centre; TP, Treponema pallidum; TPHA, Treponema pallidum haemoagglutination assay; TV, Trichomonas vaginalis.