PREVALENCE OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HIV STATUS AMONG VULNERABLE WOMEN IN NORTHERN UGANDA: BASELINE RESULTS FROM PE ATYE KENA COHORT STUDY

Background and Objectives: HIV infection among vulnerable women (VW) has been attributed to unfavourable power relations and limited access to sexual and reproductive health information and services. Aim of this work is to report sexually-transmitted infections (STI) prevalence and to assess the impact of HIV awareness, demographic and socio-behavioural factors in a rural area of northern Uganda. Methods: Pe Atye Kena is a longitudinal cohort, intervention study enrolling young women aged 18-49 years old living in the municipality of Gulu, Uganda. HIV, HBV, syphilis serologic tests and electronic comprehensive questionnaire on sexual high-risk behaviours were administered. Statistical analysis was performed by uni- and multivariable regression models. Results: 461 VW were enrolled (mean age: 29 (SD7.7)). 40 (8.5%) were found to be positive for HIV, 42 (9.1%) for syphilis and 29 (6.3%) for HBV. Older age (> 34 years vs < 24 years; OR 4.95, 95% CI: 1.7 to 14); having done the last HIV test > 12m before the interview (OR 5.21, 95% CI: 2.3 to 11); suspecting the male sexual partner to be HIV+ (OR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1 to 4.3); not having used condom at first sexual intercourse (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.3 to 5.15) were all factors associated with an incident HIV diagnosis. Conclusions: In this cohort, HIV prevalence is high and sexual high-risk behaviors are multifaced; future interventions will be aimed to reduce HIV/STIs misconceptions and to promote a sense of community, self-determination and female empowerment.

Diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections in male partners of pregnant women in Brazil

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can adversely affect a woman’s pregnancy and the health of the developing fetus. The source of these infections may be the male sexual partner who remains under-diagnosed and un-treated due to a combination of lack of symptoms, decreased access to health care, and poor health-seeking behaviors. From September 2018 to November 2019, we offered a cohort of pregnant women (gestational age range: 4.6–41 weeks) clinic-based STI testing for HIV and syphilis (via lateral flow assay rapid tests) and for Neisseria (N.) gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia (C.) trachomatis, and Trichomonas (T.) vaginalis (via PCR-based testing) at Santa Casa Hospital and 10 affiliated prenatal clinics in Porto Alegre, Brazil. 400 women between the ages of 18 and 46 years (mean age: 27 years) enrolled and 24% were diagnosed with an STI. Each woman enrolled agreed to invite their male partners to clinic for the same panel of STI testing, and 255 men (64%) between the ages of 18 and 64 years (mean age: 29 years) attended clinic and all accepted full intervention. In these male partners, 40 (16%) were diagnosed with an STI including 22 (8.7%) testing positive for C. trachomatis, 15 (6%) for treponemal antibody (syphilis), 7 (2.8%) for T. vaginalis, 3 (1.2%) for N. gonorrhoeae, and 1 (0.4%) for HIV antibody. In our multivariate analysis, having symptoms of an STI (AOR 4.5, 95% CI 1.3–15.2) and arguing about jealousy (AOR 3.1, 95% CI 1.2–8.2) remained significantly associated with male diagnosis of an STI. Sexually transmitted infections are common in sexual partners of pregnant women in Brazil and should be addressed to prevent reinfection of pregnant women.

Complete Genome Sequences of Streptococcus mitis Strains Isolated from the Oral Cavity and Urogenital Tract of a Woman and Her Male Sexual Partner

Streptococcus mitis is a member of the mitis group of the genus Streptococcus, which includes commensal species of the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract. Here, we report 39 complete genome sequences of S. mitis strains isolated from the oral cavity and urogenital tract of a woman and her male sexual partner.

2408 Genital microbiomes of women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis and their regular male sexual partner

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Epidemiologic data suggest that BV is sexually transmitted with male partners colonized or infected with the responsible organism(s). The objective of this study was to compare the genital microbiota of women with recurrent BV and their regular male sexual partner using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR targeting BV-candidate bacteria (Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, BVAB1-3, Sneathia, Leptotrichia, and Megasphaera type I). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Women with recurrent BV (≥3 prior episodes, including a current episode) and their regular male partner participating in a BV treatment trial and providing genital specimens (women: vaginal; men: urethral, coronal sulcus, urine) at enrollment were included. Male specimens for each participant were pooled. 250 bp 16S rRNA V4 region PCR amplicons were sequenced and analyzed using the QIIME pipeline. Taxonomy was assigned using the RDP Classifier against a modified Greengenes database with additional vaginal taxonomies added. An average relative abundance cutoff of 0.5% was used for analysis. qPCR was also performed for specific BV-candidate bacteria. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to investigate associations between all genital bacteria in addition to BV-candidate bacteria between partnerships. To determine positive associations between partnerships, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In total, 45 partnerships were included. Mean partnership age was 31.3 (SD=7.9), 91.1% partnerships were African-American. The majority of partnerships (70.0%) reported condomless sex during the past 3 months. Regarding 16S data, 37 genital bacteria had an average relative abundance of ≥0.5%. The average Spearman correlation across all 45 partnerships was 0.28 (SD=0.27) (median=0.27, minimum=−0.21, maximum=0.84). Overall, a positive association of all genital bacteria existed across the partnerships (p<0.0001). However, regarding specific BV-candidate bacteria, Spearman correlation tests for G. vaginalis, A. vaginae, Prevotella bivia, Megasphaera type I, BVAB1, and BVAB2 were nonsignificant. In contrast, Sneathia spp. were positively correlated between partnerships (r=0.37, p=0.01). With regards to qPCR results, RNA Cq analyses provided significant evidence for a linear association between male and females for only A. vaginae (r=0.52, p=0.006). DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: In monogamous heterosexual couples in which the female has BV, the vaginal microbiota of women and the penile/urine microbiota of men were significantly correlated, particularly with regards to Sneathia spp. and A. vaginae, supporting the hypothesis that BV-associated bacteria are exchanged during sex.

The Sexual Behavior of Male Sexual Partner of Tranvestite in the Prevention Efforts of HIV/AIDS Transmission

Transvestite is one of the high risk groups in HIV/AIDS. Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) states that in 2011, the HIV prevalence among waria in Indonesia has reached 22%, increasing from 2009 (18.96%). Such occurrence is because transvestite usually has multiple partners in intercourse both oral and anal sex, and rarely use condoms. Similarly, the male regular partners of transvestite also have sex with multiple sexual partners. Therefore, they also have a high risk of spread of HIV/AIDS. The objective of this study is to analyze sexual behavior of male regular partner of transvestite in Efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The study was carried out in 2014 using qualitative approach. Data was collected by in-depth interview on 6 male regular partner of transvestite through purposive sampling and triangulation informants of peer educators. The result shows that the use of condom on male regular partners of transvestite is still low and they inconsistently use when having sex with transvestite, female sex workers and female girlfriend. Their knowledge about HIV/AIDS is not good, and some regular partner of transvestite also felt susceptibility to contracting HIV. However, the perceived severity and perceived of benefits male regular partner of transvestite is good about HIV /AIDS despite the barrier of perceived and perceived self-efficacy is low related access to condoms.

Simulating the Emergence of Mutations and Their Subsequent Evolution in an Age-Structured Stochastic Self-Regulating Process with Two Sexes

The stochastic process under consideration is intended to be not only part of the working paradigm of evolutionary and population genetics but also that of applied probability and stochastic processes with an emphasis on computer intensive methods. In particular, the process is an age-structured self-regulating multitype branching process with a genetic component consisting of an autosomal locus with two alleles for females and males. It is within this simple context that mutation will be quantified in terms of probabilities that a given allele mutates to the other per meiosis. But, unlike many models that are currently being used in mathematical population genetics, in which natural selection is often characterized in terms of parameters called fitness by genotype or phenotype, in this paper the parameterization of submodules of the model provides a framework for characterizing natural selection in terms of some of its components. One of these modules consists of reproductive success that is quantified in terms of the total expected number of offspring a female contributes to the population throughout her fertile years. Another component consists of survival probabilities that characterize an individual’s ability to compete for limited environmental resources. A third module consists of a parametric function that expresses the probabilities of survival in a birth cohort of individuals by age for both females and males. A forth module of the model as an acceptance matrix of conditional probabilities such female may show a preference for the genotype or phenotype as her male sexual partner. It is assumed that any force of natural selection acts at the level of the three genotypes under consideration for each sex. By assigning values of the parameters in each of the modules under consideration, it is possible to conduct Monte Carlo simulation experiments designed to study the effects of each component of selection separately or in any combination on a population evolving from a given initial population over some specified period of time.