Use of male condoms or female condoms may help prevent the spread of trichomoniasis,[22] although careful studies have never been done that focus on how to prevent this infection. Infection with Trichomoniasis through water is unlikely because Trichomonas vaginalis dies in water after 45–60 minutes, in thermal water after 30 minutes to 3 hours and in diluted urine after 5–6 hours.[23]
Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) which is most often spread through vaginal, oral, or anal sex.[1] It can also spread through genital touching.[1] People who are infected may spread the disease even when symptoms are not present.[2] Diagnosis is by finding the parasite in the vaginal fluid using a microscope, culturing the vagina or urine, or testing for the parasite's DNA.[1] If present other STIs should be tested for.[1]
There were about 58 million cases of trichomoniasis in 2013.[38] It is more common in women (2.7%) than males (1.4%).[39] It is the most common non-viral STI in the U.S., with an estimated 3.7 million prevalent cases and 1.1 million new cases per year.[40][41] It is estimated that 3% of the general U.S. population is infected,[21][42] and 7.5-32% of moderate-to-high risk (including incarcerated) populations.[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]
A draft sequence of the Trichomonas genome was published on January 12, 2007 in the journal Science confirming that the genome has at least 26,000 genes, a similar number to the human genome. An additional ~35,000 unconfirmed genes, including thousands that are part of potentially transposable elements, brings the gene content to well over 60,000.[16]
Currently there are no routine standard screening requirements for the general U.S. population receiving family planning or STI testing.[24][25] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Trichomoniasis testing for females with vaginal discharge[26] and can be considered for females at higher risk for infection or of HIV-positive serostatus.[24]
^ Munson E, Kramme T, Napierala M, Munson KL, Miller C, Hryciuk JE (December 2012). "Female epidemiology of transcription-mediated amplification-based Trichomonas vaginalis detection in a metropolitan setting with a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infection". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 50 (12): 3927–31. doi:10.1128/JCM.02078-12. PMC 3503002. PMID 23015673.
^ Jump up to: a b Nye MB, Schwebke JR, Body BA (February 2009). "Comparison of APTIMA Trichomonas vaginalis transcription-mediated amplification to wet mount microscopy, culture, and polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of trichomoniasis in men and women". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 200 (2): 188.e1–7. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2008.10.005. PMID 19185101.