title: Prevalence of genital warts among sexually transmitted disease clinic patients-sexually transmitted disease surveillance network, United States, January 2010 to December 2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A quadrivalent vaccine that prevents genital warts (GWs) has been recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for women since 2007 and for men since 2011. National estimates of GW burden in sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic settings are useful to provide a baseline assessment to monitor and evaluate reductions in GW and serve as an important early measure of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine impact in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genital wart prevalence among STD clinic patients from January 2010 to December 2011 was determined from a cross-sectional analysis of all patients attending STD clinics in the STD Surveillance Network (SSuN). We conducted bivariate analyses for women, men who have sex with women (MSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM) separately, using χ statistics for the association between GW diagnosis and demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 241,630 STD clinic patients, 13,063 (5.4%) had GWs. Wide regional differences were observed across SSuN sites. The prevalence of GW was as follows: 7.5% among MSW (range by SSuN site, 3.9-15.2), 7.5% among MSM (range, 3.3-20.6), and 2.4% among women (range, 1.2-5.4). The highest rate was among 25- to 29-year-old MSW (9.8%). Non-Hispanic black women and MSW had a lower prevalence of GWs than did women and MSW in other racial/ethnic groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a significant burden of GW in STD clinic populations, most notably in men. Given the opportunity for prevention with a quadrivalent HPV vaccine, STD clinics may be an ideal setting for monitoring trends in GW prevalence among men (MSW and MSM). However, given the observed low GW prevalence among female STD clinic patients, STD clinics may not provide an appropriate setting to monitor the impact of HPV vaccine among women.
authors.affiliation: From the *Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; †San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, California; ‡Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California; §Public Health-Seattle & King County and University of Washington Center for AIDS and STD Research, Seattle, Washington; ¶Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia; ∥New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City, New York; and **Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Eloisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Llata
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stenger
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guerry
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kerani
authors.forename: River
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pugsley
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pathela
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tabidze
authors.forename: Hillard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weinstock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003218:Condylomata Acuminata / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines; D015995:Prevalence; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines