Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s) among Incoming Refugees in Maricopa County, Arizona

Abstract

Objective: The aim for this study was to determine the prevalence rate of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’S) among incoming refugees in Maricopa County in the state of Arizona. Design: A retrospective study Setting: Maricopa County Public Health Department Participants: 1,471 refugees from the Maricopa County Main outcome measures: Prevalence of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis among incoming refugees compared to the Maricopa County prevalence. Results: The overall prevalence rates among those tested were 1.12% (90 of 8,055) for Chlamydia, 0.19% (15 of 8,055) for Gonorrhea, 0.73% (80 of 11,018) for HIV, and 55.5% (71of 138) for Syphilis (+TPPA+RPR). The prevalence rates of Chlamydia(p<0.001), HIV (p<0.001) and Syphilis (p<0.001) were statistically significant when compared to the Maricopa County rates while the rate of Gonorrhea (p<0.84) did not show statistical difference. There was no statistically significant difference noted in the all the STI’s tested among males and females. Between the various age groups, Chlamydia was statistically higher among the age group of 15- 25 p<0.04 while HIV was statistically significant among the age group of 36-45 p<0.04. Among the different regions, syphilis, the seroprevalence rate was highest among those from the Caribbean (73.7%) p<0.02 than among persons from the other three region (South/southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa). Chlamydia had the highest prevalence among those from the Middle East/ North Africa (2.0%) p<0.04. There was no statistically significant among the prevalence of Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV and Syphilis and HIV over the years from 2013-2017. Conclusion: Overall, the higher prevalence rates of Chlamydia, HIV and Syphilis when compared to the population they immigrate into indicate the importance of routine screening of incoming refuges and utility of CDC refugee post-arrival screening and evaluation recommendations.