ArticlePloS one2018
Adult gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis prevalence, incidence, treatment and syndromic case reporting in South Africa: Estimates using the Spectrum-STI model, 1990-2017.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 124 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Youth-Friendly Sexual Health Services and Peer Support for Improved Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Adolescents and Young Adults in South Africa: Results of a Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The Global Syphilis Epidemic: Turning the Tide.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Chlamydia trachomatis-specific T Cell Immunity Reflects Widespread Exposure in South African Adolescents and Young Women.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried undergraduate university students.PloS one · 2026Article
- Modeled Burden and Trends of Infertility Among People Aged 15-49 Years in the Original BRICS Countries: Comparisons with G7 and Global Estimates, 1990-2023, with Projections to 2050.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Distribution and resistance patterns of male urethritis pathogens from a private South African laboratory.World journal of urology · 2025Article
- Evaluation of economic strengthening in South Africa and its impact on HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and teenage births: A modelling study.PLoS medicine · 2025Article
- Intimate Partner Violence and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among South African Women: An Assessment of Age Disparities.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Article
- Validation of Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests for Sexually Transmitted Infection Self-Testing Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Syndromic approaches for sexually transmitted infections: added value of molecular diagnosis.Current opinion in HIV and AIDS · 2025Review
- Prevalence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomoniasis among male and female general populations in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2024: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- A qualitative exploration of sexually transmitted infection (STI) partner notification preferences and practices among women planning for pregnancy and offered HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Durban, South Africa.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The effect of STI screening during pregnancy on vertical transmission of HIV and adverse pregnancy outcomes in South Africa: a modelling study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2025Article
- Spectrum of sexual partner types among adults screened for sexually transmitted infections in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.PloS one · 2025Article
- Prevalence of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomoniasis among male and female general populations in sub-Saharan Africa from 2000-2024: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Evaluation of the Sexually Transmitted Infections Programme among Key and Priority Populations in Primary Healthcare Facilities to Inform a Targeted Response: A Protocol Paper.Methods and protocols · 2024Article
- Investigating causes of the high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in Du Noon.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2024Article
- Novel lateral flow assay for point-of-care detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection in syndromic management settings: a cross-sectional performance evaluation.Lancet (London, England) · 2024Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo estimate trends in prevalence and incidence of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia in adult men and women in South Africa.
methodsThe Spectrum-STI tool estimated trends in prevalence and incidence of active syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, fitting South African prevalence data. Results were used, alongside programmatic surveillance data, to estimate trends in incident gonorrhea cases resistant to first-line treatment, and the reporting gap of symptomatic male gonorrhea and chlamydia cases treated but not reported as cases of urethritis syndrome.
resultsIn 2017 adult (15-49 years) the estimated female and male prevalences for syphilis were 0.50% (95% CI: 0.32-0.80%) and 0.97% (0.19-2.28%), for gonorrhea 6.6% (3.8-10.8%) and 3.5% (1.7-6.1%), and for chlamydia 14.7% (9.9-21%) and 6.0% (3.8-10.4%), respectively. Between 1990 and 2017 the estimated prevalence of syphilis declined steadily in women and men, probably in part reflecting improved treatment coverage. For gonorrhea and chlamydia, estimated prevalence and incidence showed no consistent time trend in either women or men. Despite growing annual numbers of gonorrhea cases - reflecting population growth - the estimated number of first line treatment-resistant gonorrhea cases did not increase between 2008 and 2017, owing to changes in first-line antimicrobial treatment regimens for gonorrhea in 2008 and 2014/5. Case reporting completeness among treated male urethritis syndrome episodes was estimated at 10-28% in 2017.
conclusionSouth Africa continues to suffer a high STI burden. Improvements in access and quality of maternal, STI and HIV health care services likely contributed to the decline in syphilis prevalence. The lack of any decline in gonorrhea and chlamydia prevalence highlights the need to enhance STI services beyond clinic-based syndromic case management, to reinvigorate primary STI and HIV prevention and, especially for women, to screen for asymptomatic infections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.