Infectious syphilis in women and heterosexual men in major Australian cities: sentinel surveillance data, 2011-2019.

OBJECTIVES: To examine changes in the positive infectious syphilis test rate among women and heterosexual men in major Australian cities, and rate differences by social, biomedical, and behavioural determinants of health. DESIGN, SETTING: Analysis of data extracted from de-identified patient records from 34 sexual health clinics participating in the Australian Collaboration for Coordinated Enhanced Sentinel Surveillance of Sexually Transmissible Infections and Blood Borne Viruses (ACCESS). PARTICIPANTS: First tests during calendar year for women and heterosexual men aged 15 years or more in major cities who attended ACCESS sexual health clinics during 2011-2019. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Positive infectious syphilis test rate; change in annual positive test rate. RESULTS: 180 of 52 221 tested women (0.34%) and 239 of 36 341 heterosexual men (0.66%) were diagnosed with infectious syphilis. The positive test rate for women was 1.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-3.2) per 1000 tests in 2011, 3.0 (95% CI, 2.0-4.2) per 1000 tests in 2019 (change per year: rate ratio [RR], 1.12; 95% CI, 1.01-1.25); for heterosexual men it was 6.1 (95% CI, 3.8-9.2) per 1000 tests in 2011 and 7.6 (95% CI, 5.6-10) per 1000 tests in 2019 (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.03-1.17). In multivariable analyses, the positive test rate was higher for women (adjusted RR [aRR], 1.85; 95% CI, 1.34-2.55) and heterosexual men (aRR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.53-3.74) in areas of greatest socio-economic disadvantage than for those in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage. It was also higher for Indigenous women (aRR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.22-4.70) and for women who reported recent injection drug use (aRR, 4.87; 95% CI, 2.18-10.9) than for other women; it was lower for bisexual than heterosexual women (aRR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.29-0.81) and for women who reported recent sex work (aRR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.29-0.44). The positive test rate was higher for heterosexual men aged 40-49 years (aRR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.42-3.12) or more than 50 years (aRR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.53-3.65) than for those aged 15-29 years. CONCLUSION: The positive test rate among both urban women and heterosexual men tested was higher in 2019 than in 2011. People who attend reproductive health or alcohol and drug services should be routinely screened for syphilis.

Opportunistic detection of anal intraepithelial neoplasia at colonoscopy.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Human papilloma virus-associated anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) precedes most anal cancers and can be detected at colonoscopy. We aimed to quantify AIN detection rates in a general population undergoing colonoscopy. METHODS: A retrospective review of a community-based practice for 2 years until December 2019 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 2525 patients (1051 males and 1474 females; median age 59 years) had 2608 colonoscopies. Ten patients (two males and eight females; median age 57.5 years) had incidentally detected AIN (condyloma acuminatum or AIN1, n = 4; AIN2 or 3, n = 6). AIN was detected in 1 of 261 (95% CI 1/142-1/480) colonoscopies and 1 of 163 (95% CI 1/83-1/321) colonoscopies in women over 40 years old. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunistically detecting AIN, especially in women over 40 years old, should be an important adjunct to colonoscopy-based colorectal neoplasia detection.

Syndemic synergy of HPV and other sexually transmitted pathogens in the development of high-grade anal squamous intraepithelial lesions.

BACKGROUND: Anal intraepithelial neoplasia is associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) as a precursor to anal cancer. However, factors other than hrHPV are likely to be involved and further study of cofactors is required because of the possibility of syndemic interactions. METHODS: Three hundred and fourteen patients underwent 457 operations. Histopathology and hrHPV testing using the Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC 2) method were performed. Demographic factors and sexually transmissible infections (STIs) were recorded. RESULTS: Results showed that hrHPV alone was associated with HSIL (OR = 4.65, p < 0.001). None of the other STIs were alone associated with HSIL but amplification of risk was found when hrHPV infection occurred with HIV (OR = 11.1); syphilis (OR = 5.58); HSV 2 (OR = 7.85); gonorrhoea (OR = 6.45) and some other infections. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that hrHPV is a sufficient cause of anal HSIL. Seropositivity for HIV, HSV 2, T. pallidum, HBV and HCV and a history of gonorrhoea or chlamydia exert a powerful amplifying factor increasing the risk of HSIL above the risk with hrHPV alone. Other co-factors which are associated with an increased risk of HSIL are increased age, male gender, MSM behaviour and self-reported history of more than 50 sexual partners. This pattern of disease in patients with warts is characteristic of a syndemic with potential serious increased risk of anal carcinoma.

Squamous intraepithelial lesions of the anal squamocolumnar junction: Histopathological classification and HPV genotyping.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-related anal cancer lesions are often found adjacent to the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ). We have assessed the histopathology and associated HPV genotypes in anal SCJ lesions in surgically excised anal warts in HIV-negative and -positive patients. METHODS: Histopathology identified 47 squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) adjacent to the SCJ amongst a total of 145 cases of clinically diagnosed anal condylomata. The anal SCJ lesions were further analyzed with p16, CK7 and p63 immunohistochemistry and HPV genotyping. RESULTS: Sixteen (16/47) of the excised anal wart lesions contained HSIL; Three were HSIL and exclusively associated with oncogenic HPVs. A further thirteen (13/47) were mixed lesions. Of these eight were HSILs with LSIL and six were HSILs with papillary immature metaplasia (PIM); Ten of the mixed lesions were associated with one or more oncogenic HPVs, while three cases were exclusively associated with HPV6. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically diagnosed anal warts cannot be assumed to be limited to low-grade lesions as anal warts of the SCJ often show heterogeneous lesions, with coexistence of LSIL, PIM, and HSIL. Lesions showing PIM, however, may mimic HSIL, because they are hypercellular, but lack the nuclear atypia and conspicuous mitotic activity of HSIL; and are p16 negative.

Human papillomavirus type 6 and 11 genetic variants found in 71 oral and anogenital epithelial samples from Australia.

Genetic variation of 49 human papillomavirus (HPV) 6 and 22 HPV11 isolates from recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) (n = 17), genital warts (n = 43), anal cancer (n = 6) and cervical neoplasia cells (n = 5), was determined by sequencing the long control region (LCR) and the E6 and E7 genes. Comparative analysis of genetic variability was examined to determine whether different disease states resulting from HPV6 or HPV11 infection cluster into distinct variant groups. Sequence variation analysis of HPV6 revealed that isolates cluster into variants within previously described HPV6 lineages, with the majority (65%) clustering to HPV6 sublineage B1 across the three genomic regions examined. Overall 72 HPV6 and 25 HPV11 single nucleotide variations, insertions and deletions were observed within samples examined. In addition, missense alterations were observed in the E6/E7 genes for 6 HPV6 and 5 HPV11 variants. No nucleotide variations were identified in any isolates at the four E2 binding sites for HPV6 or HPV11, nor were any isolates found to be identical to the HPV6 lineage A or HPV11 sublineage A1 reference genomes. Overall, a high degree of sequence conservation was observed between isolates across each of the regions investigated for both HPV6 and HPV11. Genetic variants identified a slight association with HPV6 and anogenital lesions (p = 0.04). This study provides important information on the genetic diversity of circulating HPV 6 and HPV11 variants within the Australian population and supports the observation that the majority of HPV6 isolates cluster to the HPV6 sublineage B1 with anogenital lesions demonstrating an association with this sublineage (p = 0.02). Comparative analysis of Australian isolates for both HPV6 and HPV11 to those from other geographical regions based on the LCR revealed a high degree of sequence similarity throughout the world, confirming previous observations that there are no geographically specific variants for these HPV types.

Audit of paired anal cytology and histopathology outcomes in patients referred to a public sexual health clinic.

BACKGROUND: The level of agreement between anal cytology and histopathology is not clear with only a few studies evaluating the reliability of anal specimen reporting. Australian data in relation to this are limited. METHODS: The results of paired anal cytology and histopathology specimens received between 2002 and 2008 from patients who were referred within the sexual health clinic were retrieved from the anatomical pathology database. A total of 248 paired samples from 154 (21 females, 133 males) participants were extracted. Concurrent high risk human papilloma virus (hrHPV) DNA assay and HIV status for the study group were also collected. Data were tabulated according to reported grade of squamous abnormality based on the Bethesda system. Using the biopsy result as the gold standard the specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for cytology were calculated and the association between grade of abnormality, HIV status and hrHPV infection estimated. RESULTS: Concordance between cytology and histology showed that in 204 (85%) paired samples both tests were categorised as abnormal (Kappa statistic 0.73, P = 0.013). The cytology result showed a sensitivity of 96%, specificity 14%, PPV 89% and NPV 31% when compared with histopathology. HrHPV assay was positive in 192 (80%) samples. High-grade squamous abnormalities were reported in biopsy specimens from 60% (n = 42/67) of HIV-positive subjects and 25% (n = 22/87) of HIV-negative subjects. HIV-positive individuals were more likely to be hrHPV positive, odds ratio (OR) 6.21 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.69 to 14.34], when compared with HIV-negative subjects. CONCLUSION: Anal cytology is highly sensitive for the detection of abnormal squamous cells. While cytology has low specificity for predicting the grade of abnormality compared with biopsy outcome, its application as a screening method in asymptomatic at risk populations warrants further study.

Patterns of treatment of external genital warts in Australian sexual health clinics.

BACKGROUND: External genital warts are a common sexually transmitted viral disease. We describe the patterns of treatment for initial presentations of external genital warts (EGWs) in Australian sexual health centers. METHODS: This was a retrospective audit of 489 case notes from consecutive individuals who presented with a new diagnosis of EGWs to 1 of 5 major sexual health clinics in Australia. Eligibility criteria were consecutive patients aged 18 to 45 years inclusively, presenting with first ever episode of EGWs from January 1, 2004. Exclusion criteria were patients who were immunocompromised, including HIV infection, or enrollment in a treatment study for EGWs. RESULTS: The median age at presentation of women was 23.2 years and of men 26.8 years. One quarter (n = 127) of patients had another sexually transmitted infection diagnosed at presentation. Nearly half of the patients (n = 224) presented only once for treatment. Most often, patients were treated with a monotherapy (n = 382/489; 78%), usually cryotherapy (257; 53%). Staff applied treatment in 361 (74%) cases. There was wide variation across sites, possibly reflecting local policies and budgets. We found no difference in wart resolution (n = 292; 60%) by initial treatment chosen. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis and treatment of genital warts constitute a sizable proportion of clinical visits to the audited sexual health services and require a large input of staff time to manage, including the application of topical treatments. Our results help complete the picture of the burden of EGWs on Australian sexual health centers before the introduction of the HPV vaccine.

Attitudes of WA GPs to chlamydia partner notification - A survey.

BACKGROUND: Partner notification is essential to interrupt transmission of sexually transmissible infections. We surveyed the attitudes to partner notification of general practitioners seeing 1-5 cases of chlamydia annually. METHODS: We collected data on chlamydia notifications received in Western Australia from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008. Treating GPs were identified and 200 were randomly selected. RESULTS: One hundred and five (53%) GPs responded. They believed automatic partner notification by the Department of Health occurred following notification (45%) or by ticking the box on the notification form (88%). Ninety-seven percent of GPs encouraged partner notification; 55% ensured it occurred. Printable resources were favoured by 90%, but use of web based resources was low. Practice nurses were seldom involved in partner notification. DISCUSSION: Although GPs believed that partner notification was important, follow up was infrequent. They believed (erroneously) that the Department of Health would routinely undertake partner notification. Printable resources for partner notification would be welcomed.