Prevalence of Chlamydia Infection Among Commercial Sex Workers in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Chlamydia infection is one of the sexually transmitted bacterial infections that causes severe and sometimes permanent damage to the reproductive system. Commercial sex workers are highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia infection as it is mostly asymptomatic and shows similar symptoms with gonorrhea: This study’s aim was to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia infection among commercial sex workers in Benin metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria. Materials and methods: Venous blood samples were collected from a total of 150 randomly selected and consenting commercial sex workers residing in Benin metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria into sterile plain containers and spun to obtain serum. The Chlamydia status of the participants was determined using Fich-Tech Chlamydia rapid diagnostic test kits. The results obtained were statistically analyzed. Results and Conclusion: The overall prevalence of Chlamydia infection obtained among commercial sex workers in our study was 20.7%. Chlamydia infection was more prevalent in female commercial sex workers (93.5%) compared to their male counterparts (6.5%). Chlamydia infection was also more prevalent in sex workers within the age grade 21 - 25 years (64.5%), 16-20 years age grade (19.4%) while aged grade 26-30 years and >40 years had the least prevalence (3.6%).  Age and having multiple sex partners were associated with an increased risk for the acquisition of Chlamydia infection among commercial sex workers in this study. Public enlightenment on risk factors for the acquisition of chlamydia infection in the general population is strongly advocated.