ABSTRACT
Objective. To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT); Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and syphilis in pregnant women. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among women attending antenatal care clinics (ANCs). Blood samples were tested for syphilis using the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and treponemal haemaggluti- nation (TPHA) tests; CT and NG were diagnosed using a manual polymerase chain reaction assay on first-void urine samples. A socio-demographic questionnaire was completed. Results were compared with previous published data on sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence in Mozambique. Results. Blood and urine samples were collected from 1 119 and 835 women; respectively. The prevalence of CT was 4.1; and that of NG 2.5. The RPR test was positive in 5.2of the women; and 7.1had a positive TPHA test. Active syphiliswas found in 4.7. In univariate analysis; CT was associated with having had any level of education (p0.05); reactive RPR and TPHA were associated with illiteracy (p0.05); and TPHA was associated with age 25. Multivariate analysis did not show any significant association. In comparisonwith published data from 1993; a decline was observed for CT (p0.05); NG and syphilis (p0.001). Conclusions. Compared with available data; a decline of STI prevalence was observed in our setting. This might be the result of community-based education programmes focusing on changes to sexual behaviour; as well as the widespread use of the syndromic approach to managing STIs and the expansion of syphilis screening in primary health care settings. However; STI rates are still high; and the problem needs more concrete and sustained efforts for its control