Seroprevalence of Treponema pallidum Among Residents of Yemetu, A SemiUrban Community in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted bacterial disease transmitted during vaginal, anal and oral sex. Pregnant women can also pass the disease to their unborn babies. However, it thrives in dirty and unhealthy environment which has made its spread uncontrollable. Therefore, this community-based study was carried out in Yemetu community in Ibadan to determine the burden of syphilis infection among the asymptomatic residents of this community. Methodology: Blood samples were aseptically collected from consenting one hundred and fifty male (m=49 and female (f=101) participants, age ranged 15 to >55 years who volunteered to take part in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to capture demographic data and other relevant information from these participants. Sera from these blood samples were tested for syphilis antibodies using a 3rd generation Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent-Assay (ELISA) kit, syphilis Ab version Ultra. Data were analysed using Chi-squared and ANOVA with p<0.05 considered as significant. Results: An overall seroprevalence rate for Treponema pallidum/syphilis in this study was 1.3%. Syphilis infection was higher among male (2.1%) than in female (1.0%), 1.6 times higher in male compared to their female counterparts (OR=1.57, 95% CI 1.43-2.81) and also statistically significant (p=0.0313). Highest rate (4.1%) of the infection was detected in age group >55 years while lowest rate (3.8%) of syphilis infection was found in age group 15-24 years. A total of 46 (30.7%) participants claimed to practice multiple sexual partnership with 2 (4.3%) of them positive for Treponema pallidum and this was found to be statistically significant (p=0.043). Furthermore, distribution of Treponema pallidum infection by marital status in the study community showed that highest prevalence (2.4%) was found among the single while lowest rate (1.2%) was detected among married participants. Among the occupational groups, highest Treponema pallidum infection rate (3.6%) was found among artisans and the lowest rate of 3.5% was among the students. Conclusion: Although this study reported low prevalence for syphilis infection in this community among asymptomatic population, this rate is however of public health importance. Therefore, public awareness for hygiene, high risky behaviour including voluntary counseling and testing for syphilis should be advocated.