Prevalence of urine, rectal, and pharyngeal <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> and <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> among newly diagnosed Filipinos with HIV

<b>Background:</b> A syndromic approach likely underestimates prevalence of <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> (chlamydia) and <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i> (gonorrhea) infection among Filipino people living with HIV (PLHIV). We determined urine, rectal, and pharyngeal prevalence of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection using nucleic acid testing (NAAT) in this population.<b>Methods:</b> This is a single-center, cross-sectional study performed at Philippine General Hospital. Following ethical approval and informed consent, urine, rectal, and pharyngeal samples from treatment-naïve adult PLHIV were tested using GeneXpert® for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Participants with recent antibiotic use with activity against chlamydia or gonorrhoea were excluded. Demographic and clinical data were collected.<b>Results:</b> We enrolled 60 participants with median age of 30 years, 85% were male, 78% identified as men who have sex with men, and 95% were asymptomatic. The overall prevalence of chlamydia or gonorrhoea was 32%. Site-specific testing showed that rectal chlamydia or gonorrhoea infections were most common at 16.7%, followed by multisite infections at 10.0%.<b>Conclusion:</b> The prevalence of chlamydia and gonorrhoea among newly diagnosed Filipino PLHIV is 32% with 95% being asymptomatic. This is sufficiently high to warrant routine NAAT screening.