Despite being curable reproductive tract infections (RTIs) including sexually transmitted infections continue to be a major health problem in developing countries. The present study was undertaken to know the prevalence of trichomoniasis, vaginal candidiasis, genital herpes, chlamydiasis, and actinomycosis in rural and urban women of Haryana by using wet mount, PAP smear, and fluorescent microscopic examination. Patients suspected of suffering from bacterial vaginosis were given treatment and were not included in the study. RTIs were seen in 16.6% of urban and 28.7% of rural women. The highest prevalence seen was that of trichomoniasis in both rural (24.2%) and urban (15.7%) women, followed by candidiasis (4.2% in rural and 0.6% in urban women), genital herpes (0.3% in rural and 0.2% in urban women), and chlamydiasis (0.02% in rural and 0.05% in urban women). Pelvic actinomycosis was seen in 1.4% of rural and 0.06% of urban women using intrauterine contraceptive devices. Mixed infection of Trichomonas vaginalis with Candida spp. was seen in 6.3% of rural women only. It is desirable to have a baseline profile of the prevalence of various agents causing RTIs in a particular geographic area and population which will help in better syndromic management of the patients. 1. Introduction Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) including sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be major health problem in developing countries leading to considerable morbidity. Most of the RTIs are prevalent in India; however, their profile varies with changes in socioeconomic, cultural, geographic, and environmental factors prevalent in different parts of the country. Information regarding the laboratory data on RTIs is lacking due to syndromic diagnosis which is adopted by the clinicians. Lack of adequate laboratory infrastructure, limited resources, associated stigma, and poor attendance of female patients in the RTI/STI clinics are few reasons for lack of RTI data as discussed by Ray et al. [1]. The causes, presenting symptoms, and the perception of symptoms may vary in different populations. The prevalence of different causative agents of RTIs may be different in urban and rural population. RTIs in many cases are asymptomatic among women, making their detection and diagnosis difficult. Routine Papanicolaou (PAP) smear examination can be very useful in such cases. PAP smear has become a routine procedure for women at their annual gynecologic visit because of its success in the prevention of cervical cancer and precursor lesions as discussed elsewhere [2]. In addition
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