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Objective: To determine of the prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis, Candida sp, mixed infections (Bacterial Vaginosis + Candida sp), Trichomonas Vaginalis, Actinomyces sp in Ankara, Turkey and analyze whether there is seasonal variation in these infectious agents., Methods: A retrospective study on the results of 23298 cervical cytology examinations of patients which were performed in Fatih University Faculty of Medicine, Pathology Laboratory in Ankara, Turkey from January 2007 to July 2011. Patients were included in the study if a Pap smear was performed for any reason., Results: The prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis, Candida sp, mixed infections (Bacterial Vaginosis + Candida sp), Trichomonas Vaginalis, Actinomyces sp was 7.76%, 2.81%, 0.32%, 0.13%, and 0.27%, respectively A seasonal variation was not observed in the prevalence of any of the infectious agents (p>0.05)., Conclusion: We conclude that cervical cytology is well suited for diagnosis of cervical infections. Bacterial vaginosis appears to be the predominant cause of vaginitis.

Sex-workers are considered as the high-risk population for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Early diagnosis and treatment of curable STIs in this high-risk group have crucial importance in STI control and prevention of complications and transmission of infection. In this study, 146 registered female sex-workers in Ankara city were screened with rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for causative agents of curable STIs such as, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis and Treponema pallidum. To identify gonorrhoea, Gram stained endocervical smears were examined microscopically for the presence of gram-negative intracellular diplococci. For the diagnosis of chlamydial infection, an optic immunoassay (OIA) (Chlamydia OIA, Biostar, USA) as a RDT was performed by using endocervical specimens. For the detection of T. vaginalis, direct smears of vaginal swabs were examined for the presence of motile trophozoites first directly and after being cultured in Diamond's media for 24-48 hours of incubation. Syphilis was screened in the serum specimens by RPR (Omega, UK) test. There was no positive test results for gonorrhoea and syphilis however, the frequency of C. trachomatis and T. vaginalis in the study population was 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively. To provide comprehensive policies and optimal control strategies, a reliable source of data about the frequency and spectrum of STIs among high-risk populations and optimized effective screening programmes are required.

Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) is the most common pathogen that is sexually spread in women. In this study, the presence of Trichomonas vaginalis was investigated in patients with vaginal discharge and itching who presented at the polyclinic of the Mustafa Kemal University Medical Faculty Department of Gynecology. These women were between 20-40 years of age. During gynecologic examination of patients, vaginal fluid samples were collected with swaps from the speculum and fornics to two tubes that contained sterile saline. One of the vaginal discharges collected with swaps was used for direct microscopic examination and Giemsa staining. The other one was used for culturing for T. vaginalis in Trichomonas medium that contained horse serum and antibiotics. While the fre-quency of T. vaginalis was found to be 1.81% (5 of the 275 samples) by the direct microscopic examination and Giemsa stain, this ratio was 2.18% (6 of the 275 samples) by the culture method. In conclusion, it was decided to use the culture method in diagnosis of T. vaginalis in addition to direct microscopic examination. This was the first study of T. vaginalis infection in our region and it was compared with other studies carried out in other regions of Turkey. Our results were somewhat lower than those in other regions.

Background: Integrating screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections into existing family planning programs can be a good way to fight this problem. Also, the number of studies on the prevalence of certain sexually transmitted infections in this population in Turkey is limited., Goal: To find out the prevalence of the most common sexually transmitted infections among the clients of an urban family planning clinic and to evaluate demographic characteristics and clinical signs related to sexually transmitted infections., Study Design: Samples for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis were collected from 569 women who attended the clinic from December 15, 1997 to March 31, 1998., Results: No case of N gonorrhoeae was found among the samples. The prevalence of C trachomatis infection was 1.9%, whereas the prevalence of of T vaginalis was 2.6%. None of the demographic characteristics or clinical signs was related to these infections., Conclusion: Larger studies using more sensitive laboratory tests are needed to determine the prevalence of chlamydial infections in family planning clinics in Turkey.