Introduction of STIs
Women’s health faces a looming crisis that remains unnoticed by most people. STIs transitioned from being overlooked topics in medical discussions into clear dangers needing urgent action. Women from all over the world fall victim to sexually transmitted infections every day without knowing them while their lives undergo permanent changes due to STIs’ extensive impact.
A range of microorganisms causes these infections which create substantial hazards for female reproductive health while untreated cases lead to persistent health issues. Identifying these infection-causing pathogens helps raise public awareness and supports prevention while allowing for immediate treatment options.
Sexual transmission of infections takes place during vaginal intercourse as well as anal and oral sexual activities. Blood transmission and blood products can serve as alternative pathways for spreading sexually transmitted infections beyond sexual interaction. During pregnancy and childbirth medical conditions such as chlamydia and gonorrhea show transmission potential alongside hepatitis B and HIV and syphilis which pose the highest risk to newborns. Sharing food or drinks, hugging someone and sneezing near others do not transmit these infections. The WHO reports that scientists have identified over 30 different types of bacteria, viruses, and parasites which are transmitted through sexual contact.
Virus of STIs
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
The AIDS condition emerges when individuals contract the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which researchers call the AIDS virus. AIDS serves as a major public health problem which affects general public health benchmarks.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1
The herpes simplex virus type 1 usually causes oral herpes but now regularly results in genital herpes and shows a strong link to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2
The infection caused by HSV-2 stands as a global infectious disease leading to most genital ulcers found in clinical settings.
Hepatitis A virus (HAV)
Gay men experience high HAV infection rates because of unclean sexual interactions involving oral and anal sex with anonymous partners and group sex sessions.
Hepatitis B virus
Most HBV infections spread through sexual activities. When people who carry HBV participate in unprotected sex it raises the chances of HBV transmission particularly if they have many sexual partners.
Hepatitis C virus
Hepatitis C transmission occurs predominantly through sexual contact among gay men while heterosexual individuals seldom transmit it this way. People who participate in high-risk sexual activities or who live with HIV experience increased risks of hepatitis C transmission.
Human papillomavirus
Human papillomavirus (HPV) regularly causes infections in the female reproductive tract along with skin mucosa. Its infection is relatively common. A minimum of 80% of women will encounter HPV infection over their lifetime. HPV is mainly transmitted through three ways: sexual contact, skin-to-skin contact, and mother-to-child transmission. Persistent high-risk HPV infections cause squamous epithelial cell proliferation which results in cervical lesions.
Condyloma acuminata
CA, known as anogenital warts, forms from human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and presents as warty growths on both skin and mucous membranes. The skin and mucous membranes of the genitals as well as the anus and perianal region become sites for condyloma acuminata development while the infection spreads to the groin and perineum areas. The disease shows a tendency to recur post-treatment requiring extensive long-term treatment which severely impacts patient quality of life.
CMV
CMV occupies a leading position among β-herpesvirus subfamily pathogens that cause infectious diseases.
HTLV-1
Sexual activity and intravenous contamination transmit HTLV-1 together with mother-to-child transmission and blood transfusions. The virus triggers adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and HTLV-1-related myelopathy alongside HAM/tropical spastic paraparesis and uveitis.
Zika virus (ZIKV)
Zika virus-infected patients and other primates act as viral infection sources that spread through mosquito-borne transmission, mother-to-child vertical transmission and sexual transmission. The Zika virus can move through both the placental barrier and the blood-brain barrier. Pregnant women who get infected risk severe congenital defects to their fetuses with microcephaly being the predominant condition. Zika virus infection during pregnancy leads to fetal neurodevelopmental delays and dysplasia of the bladder and kidneys while adult infection with Zika virus can develop into Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Ebola Virus
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which goes by the name of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever (EHF) is an acute hemorrhagic infectious disease that results from Ebola virus infection. The primary method of disease transmission occurs through direct contact. The virus spreads when people touch blood or bodily fluids and excretions from infected patients or animals. The Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus can spread through semen.
Chlamydia
Chlamydia trachomatis (CT)
Chlamydia trachomatis belongs to the prokaryotic microorganism category where it exists exclusively inside host cells and follows a distinctive developmental cycle. Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection stands as one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases because it develops slowly over time and displays mild symptoms. The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis generates several diseases affecting multiple organs including the eyes and reproductive system as well as the rectum and facilitates transmission from mother to child.
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)
Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) tends to be referred to as the fourth STD. Through sexual transmission from Chlamydia trachomatis infection patients develop genital ulcers externally as well as inguinal lymph node suppuration and perforation while late-stage disease leads to external genital elephantiasis and rectal stenosis.
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma genitalium (MG)
MG functions as a significant infectious agent responsible for sexually transmitted diseases. The infection leads to reproductive tract complications in both genders and contributes to spontaneous abortions and premature births.
Ureaplasma urealyticum
The Ureaplasma genus contains the Ureaplasma urealyticum species which causes reproductive system inflammation in both genders and connects to HIV infection and infertility together with negative pregnancy outcomes and neonatal diseases.
Bacteria
Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG)
Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) causes gonorrhea as a classic sexually transmitted disease through purulent inflammation of the urogenital mucosa. Men usually develop urethritis as the primary symptom of this condition while women typically experience cervicitis. The primary local complications for men include epididymitis whereas women experience pelvic inflammatory disease as their main complication. The rectum, pharynx and conjunctiva serve as potential primary infection sites. Clinical cases show that gonococci may disseminate through hematogenous spread to cause disseminated gonococcal infection, though this occurrence is uncommon.
Treponema pallidun (TP)
Treponema pallidum causes syphilis which is a chronic systemic disease transmitted sexually that includes both acquired and congenital forms.
Haemophilus ducreyi (HD)
Haemophilus ducreyi infection leads to the development of chancroid. The condition manifests primarily through multiple painful genital ulcers which typically exhibit suppurative lesions in the inguinal lymph nodes.
Calymmatobacterium granulomatis
Donovan disease which goes by the name inguinal granuloma manifests as a rare bacterial chronic infection that produces deep ulcers in the genital area without any pain. Calymmatobacterium granulomatis functions as the pathogen responsible for inguinal granuloma.
Shigella
Shigella represents the common Gram-negative pathogen which causes bacillary dysentery. The transmission of Shigella through sexual contact has become a significant route in recent years. The majority of shigellosis cases in wealthy nations result from international travel or sexual contact among men who have sex with men (MSM). Sexually transmitted Shigella continues to develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs.
Gardnerella Vaginalis
Gardnerella vaginalis is a conditional pathogen. Gardnerella vaginalis remains harmless unless its population grows beyond numbers. When Lactobacillus levels decrease and disappear from the vaginal environment Gardnerella vaginalis grows exponentially to produce bacterial vaginosis. The human body becomes vulnerable to infections from Candida, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis during this period which results in combined vaginitis and cervicitis.
Mycoplasma Hominis (Mh)
Mycoplasma hominis (Mh) occurs throughout various natural environments. Adults contract this infection through sexual intercourse while newborns acquire it when they pass through their mother’s reproductive system during birth. Mycoplasma hominis infection leads to multiple urogenital tract problems including non-gonococcal urethritis, female cervicitis and adnexitis while causing infertility.
Group B Streptococcus
The Gram-positive coccus known as Group B Streptococcus leads to premature membrane rupture and early delivery while also causing late pregnancy miscarriages and postpartum infections and urinary tract infections resulting in postpartum sepsis in women during late pregnancy stages. The infection leads to fetal development restriction and pregnancy meningitis in newborns. The microorganism is identified as one of the primary sources of infections that impact pregnant women and their newborns.
Neisseria meningitidis (Nm)
The bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is also known as meningococcus. Human beings represent the sole natural host of Nm according to current findings and a healthy human population shows a carrier rate between 10% to 15%. Nm functions either as a colonizer within the human nasopharyngeal mucosa or as a local infection agent before it crosses mucosal barriers leading to invasive bacteremia or epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis known as meningococcal meningitis. There are rare instances where it occupies additional mucosal locations including the cervix, urethra and rectum. The latest research indicates that sexual transmission of the pathogen is possible which leads to Neisseria meningitidis-associated urethritis in heterosexual men and invasive meningococcal disease among MSM.
Campylobacter species
Campylobacter ranks among the leading pathogens that cause human intestinal infections globally and produces symptoms which commonly include diarrhea and abdominal cramps along with vomiting and fever. Certain strains have the potential to lead to severe conditions including reactive arthritis and both Guillain-Barré syndrome and Miller-Fisher syndrome. Scientific reports have linked Campylobacter to proctocolitis and enteritis among men who have sex with men.
Fungus
Candida Albicans
Candida vaginitis represents an opportunistic mucosal infection encountered in clinical gynecology. Candida albicans infection induces this condition which presents with main clinical symptoms of vulvar itching and dreg-like leucorrhea. A vaginal infection affects many women throughout their lives.
Parasites
Trichomonas vaginalis
The parasitic protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis possesses flagella and remains among the most widespread sexually transmitted pathogens globally. Trichomoniasis develops when women become parasitized by Trichomonas vaginalis in their vagina following infection. Trichomonas vaginalis can also infect men. The parasites spread retrogradely through the urogenital tract to reach the bladder, prostate, seminal vesicles, testicles, epididymis and other tissues where they inflict substantial damage to sperm cells and other tissues resulting in conditions like urethritis, prostatitis, prostate cancer, weak sperm and azoospermia which impair male fertility.
Entamoeba histolytica
Entamoeba histolytica is a pathogenic intestinal protozoan. Humans who become infected with this parasite might develop advanced amebiasis which leads to amoebic colitis and extraintestinal abscesses including amoebic liver abscesses. There are also asymptomatic people with cysts. HIV-infected people show an increasing Entamoeba histolytica infection rate especially among HIV-positive men who have sex with other men (MSM). HIV-related immunosuppression and the shared outbreak zones between HIV and Entamoeba histolytica have resulted in amebiasis being categorized as an untreated intestinal parasitic disease in AIDS patients.
Giardia Lamblia
The single-cell protozoan Giardia acts as a parasite in both small intestine and gallbladder areas of the host leading to abdominal pain, diarrhea and malabsorption symptoms. This parasite represents one of the typical organisms that infect the human intestine. Adult individuals and mature animals typically experience acute infections that present with diarrhea as the main symptom whereas children and juvenile animals face chronic infections that can prove fatal in extreme cases.
Sarcoptes Scabiei
Scabies triggers itching through its parasitic invasion of the outermost skin layer known as the stratum corneum. The itching intensifies at night to extreme levels and will result in scratches and skin lesions including pustules and blood scabs. Without timely effective treatment the patient can develop serious complications like folliculitis and lymphadenitis which will significantly impact their physical health and life quality.
Phthirus Pubis
Phthirus pubis represents a parasitic infection where the phthirus pubis parasite lives on genital hair. The primary transmission method for phthirus pubis is sexual contact while transmission can also occur through shared public towels and bedding. Phthirus pubis has been found to infest areas such as the head, eyelashes, and armpits according to multiple reports. Patients with this disease display skin lesions composed of small papules along with tiny blood scabs. The undergarments of patients show blood spots resembling dots together with intense itching that stems from folliculitis and eczema. The tiny size of phthirus pubis makes them hard to see with the naked eye as they hide close to the hair or skin leading to frequent misdiagnosis as conditions like folliculitis or eczema which worsens the situation.