Burden and Diagnosis of Vaginal and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Pregnancy in Addis Ababa

December 2025 - The talk focused on the scale of undetected infections, compared diagnostic performance, and discussed how improved STI detection could strengthen maternal health services in Ethiopia.

Sexually transmitted infections have an enormous impact on healthy pregnancies, yet they are frequently present without symptoms. In many sub-Saharan African settings, the true burden of STIs in pregnancy remains a blind spot due to limited diagnostics and a lack of reliable data.

Here, we set out to determine the prevalence of major STIs—including Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and HPV—among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Addis Ababa, and to evaluate feasible diagnostic approaches using urine, self-collected vaginal swabs, and clinician-taken swabs. 

Speaker

Prof. Piet Cools, PHD. Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University