A new antibiotic resistant strain of salmonella typhimurium isolated from cases of gastroenteritis at Port of Spain General Hospital - abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine some of the characteristics of male patients with urethritics attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), as well as, of the contacts of these patients. Two hundred (200) males with symptoms of urethritis (discharge and dysuria, or discharge only) were randomly selected over 13 days. A urethral smear was taken from each patient and a gram - stain read immediately. If the result was negative, an urethral culture was done on TM media. After seeing the doctor, patient was then interviewed by a contact investigator who administered a short questionnaire in addition to routine contract interviewing. Patients were given referral slips for their contacts, asked to bring their contacts for evaluation, and told to return in 3 - 4 days for follow-up. Patients attending the clinic were all from the lower socio-economic group. The prevalence rate for NGU was 13.5 percent as against 86.5 percent for GC. The age distribution in both groups was similar with a peak incidence in the age group 20 - 24 years. The average number contacts was 1.5 per patient. None of the patients admitted homosexual or bisexual preferences or behaviour. The index cases were able to provide the full names of stable contacts (more than 3 months) in 93.6 percent and identifiable addresses in 58.2 percent. Percentages for short-term (1 - 12 weeks) and casual (less than 1 week) contacts were 56.8 percent and 28.8 and 12.5 and 1.8 percent respectively. Stable contacts comprised slightly more than 1/3 of all contacts. The overall percentage of contacts attending was 13.1 percent and 80 percent did so within 7 days. The large number of short-term and casual contacts to male patients with urethritis, and the poor rate of attendance of all contacts are significant deterrents to the STD control programme. With 80 percent of contacts attending within 7 days, field investigations are indicated if contacts fail to attend after one week (AU)