Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the percentage of positive urine tests for Trichomonas vaginalis

Trichomoniasis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. It is caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis, and most infections are asymptomatic – making difficult the diagnosis and allowing the parasite to spread. Due to the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, social isolation measures were taken to prevent the transmission of SARS-Cov-2. Interestingly, some studies have shown an increase in the number of STIs during and after the lockdown ended. In this context, we evaluated the impact that the COVID19 pandemic had on the percentage of positive urine tests for T. vaginalis in an outpatient service of a teaching hospital. A total of 21,762 urine tests were analyzed (0.20% [n=43] positive for T. vaginalis) among January 2018 and July 2023. The temporal analysis showed a percentage of 0.05% and 0.09% of positive urine tests for T. vaginalis, respectively, in the pre-pandemic period (2018 and 2019). There was a trend towards an increase in 2020 (0.18%) which was confirmed in the following years with the relaxation of social isolation measures in Brazil (0.30% and 0.33% in 2021 and 2022, respectively). This increase continued in the following year (0.18% until July 2023), coinciding with the end of the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization. Of the 38 infected individuals, 34 were women (44.7% pregnant) and 4 were men. Additionally, 50% of the diagnosed trichomoniasis received specific treatment and only 21% of sexual partners were indicated for treatment. Our study highlights the increase in trichomoniasis during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduced number of individuals – and sexual partners – treated. Establishing protocols for early diagnosis and health education are necessary to reduce the number of cases of this STI in the community.