Transmission of Trichomoniasis

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It is possible to unkowingly be infected with T. vaginalis for years before it causes symptoms.

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease. Nonsexual transmission is extremely rare since T. vaginalis infection is generally confined to the urogenital tract.1

Asymptomatically infected individuals are an important vector and act as a stealth factor in trichomoniasis transmission. More than 70% of male partners of infected females are also infected.2 The incubation period before symptoms of trichomoniasis arise is 4-28 days in approximately 50% of infected women.3

Many studies have shown that treatment of the male partner(s) of infected women improves both cure rates and recurrence rates.4,5 The CDC's STD treatment guidelines advise that sex partners of patients with T. vaginalis should be treated.6

Live T. vaginalis organisms in urine and semen samples have been found after being exposed to air for several hours. Although organisms are able to survive for hours on damp towels and clothes of infected women,7 there have been no well-documented cases regarding transmission through these means.

The only known nonvenereal form of transmission is from a mother to her child during delivery. Approximately 5% of female babies born of infected mothers contract the infection.8

  1. Thomason JL, Gelbart SM. Trichomonas vaginalis. Obstet Gynecol. 1989 Sep;74(3 Pt 2):536-41.
  2. Hobbs MM, Lapple DM, Lawing LF, Schwebke JR, Cohen MS, Swygard H, Atashili J, Leone PA, Miller WC, Seña AC. Methods for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in the male partners of infected women: implications for control of trichomoniasis. J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Nov;44(11):3994-9. Epub 2006 Sep 13.
  3. Weston TE, Nicol CS. Natural history of trichomonal infection in males. Br J Vener Dis. 1963 Dec;39:251-7.
  4. Hager WD, Brown ST, Kraus SJ, Kleris GS, Perkins GJ, Henderson M. Metronidazole for vaginal trichomoniasis. Seven-day vs single-dose regimens. JAMA. 1980 Sep 12;244(11):1219-20.
  5. Lyng J, Christensen J. A double-blind study of the value of treatment with a single dose tinidazole of partners to females with trichomoniasis. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1981;60(2):199-201.
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines 2006. MMWR 2006;55(RR11):1-94.
  7. Lossick JG. Therapy of urogenital trichomoniasis. In: Honigberg BM, editor. Trichomonads parasitic in man. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1989, pp. 324-341.
  8. Bramley M. Study of female babies of women entering confinement with vaginal trichomoniasis. Br J Vener Dis. 1976 Feb;52(1):58-62.