DPDx is an education resource designed for health professionals and laboratory scientists. For an overview including prevention and control visit www.cdc.gov/std/trichomonas/default.htm.
Trichomonas vaginalis, a flagellate, is the most common pathogenic protozoan of humans in industrialized countries.
Trichomonas vaginalis resides in the female lower genital tract and the male urethra and prostate , where it replicates by binary fission . The parasite does not appear to have a cyst form, and does not survive well in the external environment. Trichomonas vaginalis is transmitted among humans, its only known host, primarily by sexual intercourse .
Worldwide. Higher prevalence among persons with multiple sexual partners or other venereal diseases.
Trichomonas vaginalis infection in women is frequently symptomatic. Vaginitis with a purulent discharge is the prominent symptom, and can be accompanied by vulvar and cervical lesions, abdominal pain, dysuria and dyspareunia. The incubation period is 5 to 28 days. In men, the infection is frequently asymptomatic; occasionally, urethritis, epididymitis, and prostatitis can occur.