A drug given to pregnant women in 35
countries worldwide to protect against malaria has been shown also to safeguard
against the consequences of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and
bacterial vaginosis, according to a new study published in Clinical Infectious
Diseases.
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The World Health Organization recommends
providing intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) using
sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to pregnant women living in malaria-endemic
areas as part of every scheduled antenatal care visit, from the second
trimester until delivery, to reduce adverse birth outcomes caused by malaria
infection. This study has produced the first compelling evidence that the same
preventive treatment reduces adverse birth outcomes attributable to curable
sexually transmitted/reproductive tract infections (STIs/RTIs).
The research, led by the London School of
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with partners the University of Zambia,
involved 1,086 pregnant women in Zambia. Researchers investigated the
protective effect that different doses of IPTp-SP had on pregnancy outcomes.
The analyses confirmed IPTp-SP protects against adverse birth outcomes but of
particular interest to the team was the effect the drug had on the infections
themselves. At delivery, women who experienced an adverse birth outcome who had
had two or more doses of IPTp-SP compared to 0-1 dose were 76% less likely to
have a malaria infection, 94% less likely to have gonorrhoea or chlamydia, and
66% less likely to have trichomoniasis or bacterial vaginosis.
There are 880,000 stillbirths and 1.2
million newborn deaths each year in sub-Saharan Africa, many of which are
linked to maternal infection. A 2012 School study found that nearly 4 of every
10 women at health facilities have a malaria infection. An even higher
number of women, if added together, are infected with the STIs/RTIs syphilis,
gonorrhoea, chlamydia, tichomononiasis and bacterial vaginosis.
Lead author of this new study, Assistant
Professor Matthew Chico from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine, said: “Sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections are
linked to devastating birth consequences for pregnant women, including
spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and premature and low birthweight. While
sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine has been thought to offer pregnant women protection
against other infections, no evidence existed - until now. The findings
show that IPTp-SP offers unrecognised potential that extends beyond its
life-saving protection against malaria.” - See more here
News credit:
Matthew Chico, Enesia Banda Chaponda, Cono
Ariti, Daniel Chandramohan. Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Exhibits Dose-Response
Protection Against Adverse Birth Outcomes Related to Sexually Transmitted and
Reproductive Tract Infections. Clinical Infectious Diseases.
DOI:10.1093/cid/cix026
