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Purpose: Genital tract infections are globally a major cause of morbidity in sexually active individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associations of co-infections of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis (MH), Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and Ureaplasma parvum (UP) in specimens collected from female (SF) and male (SM) patients., Methods: 1575 samples from 1575 individuals from the geographical area around Bari, Apulia region in Southern Italy, were collected and analyzed by a multiplex Real-Time PCR (mRT-PCR) (Anyplex TM II STI-7, Seegene, Inc., Seoul, Korea) assay., Results: 455/1575 (28.89%) samples resulted positive for at least one of the targets named above. Statistically significant differences in prevalence of the pathogens between SF and SM were not detected except for UP (24.92% in SF vs 8.91% in SM). Prevalence of co-infections was 6.84 and 3.96% in SF and SM, respectively. Moreover, MH presence in SF, but not in SM, was associated with UU and UP., Conclusions: Our data suggest different patterns of infections between females and male and the importance of an increased vigilance of sexually transmitted pathogens to reduce the burden on general population and the sequelae or the complications on reproductive organs.

We investigated the in vitro effect of various members of the genus Legionella on human peripheral mononuclear cells. All the strains tested induced the generation of strong procoagulant activity (tissue factor) when incubated for a prolonged period of time with pure mononuclear cell suspensions. This effect was dependent on the number of bacteria. The production of mononuclear cell procoagulant activity was also observed after the addition of bacteria to citrated whole blood. Escherichia coli 0111:B4 showed similar activity, but Staphylococcus aureus was much less effective. These findings suggest that the presence of endotoxin-like substance(s) in the outer cell wall of Legionellae could contribute to the stimulation of mononuclear cells. The production of tissue factor, a potent trigger of blood clotting, by these cells could help us to understand the mechanism(s) responsible for the activation of intravascular coagulation associated with severe legionellosis.