title: Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Turkey among men With urethritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are known to cause urethritis. However, only a small number of studies in Eastern European countries have investigated the causes of urethritis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae among men with symptomatic urethritis in Istanbul, Turkey, and to determine whether contact with a commercial sex worker increased the likelihood of chlamydial infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Men with a diagnosis of urethritis at the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine were screened for C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae by Abbott's ligase chain reaction (LCR) using either urethral swabs or first-void urine. N gonorrhoeae cultures were done on a subset of these patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study enrolled 813 men. All of the men denied condom use during their previous sexual exposures. The overall prevalence of C trachomatis, as determined by LCR, was 15.7%. Only 192 patients were screened for both organisms. N gonorrhoeae prevalence was 9.4%. There was no difference in the chlamydia prevalence between men who had contact with commercial sex workers (CSWs) and men who had no such contact (15.3% versus 17.2%). However, clients of foreign CSWs were more likely to have chlamydia than clients of registered Turkish CSWs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  C trachomatis and N gonorrhoeae are commonly found in Turkish men with urethritis. The findings did not show more chlamydial infection among men who had contact with CSWs than among men who had no such contact. The failure to use condoms among these men must be addressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, University of Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agacfidan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moncada
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onel
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alp
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Isik
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Badur
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014526:Urethritis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology