A 20-year old female for complaints of vaginal itching, discharge, pain with intercourse and discomfo with urination. She has had 3 different sexual paners over the past 2 years. As pa of your workup, you do a wet mount of vaginal secretions and see a flagellated organism about the size of a white blood cell with "twitching motility" that makes you think of Trichomonas vaginalis. Which statement is false regarding Trichomonas?
There is only one stage in the life cycle of Trichomonas, trophozoite. Hence, the transmission occurs sexually the trophozoite. T. vaginalis inhabits the lower genital tract of females and the urethra and prostate of males. Men infected with T. vaginalis are usually asymptomatic but can transmit the infection sexually. In contrast, infection in women, which has an incubation period of 5-28 days, is usually symptomatic and manifests with malodorous vaginal discharge (often yellow), vulvar erythema( "strawberry cervix")and itching, dysuria or urinary frequency. All sexual paners must be treated concurrently (Metronidazole) to prevent reinfection, especially from asymptomatic males.
Men are most likely asymptomatic but efficient transmitters of this organism
The cyst form of the life cycle is the most common method of transmission
Simultaneous treatment of the patient and her sexual contacts will decrease the chance of recurrences
In severe cases the regional mucosa may be red with petechial lesions and the cervix has been described as a "strawberry cervix"
Parasitology Pa 1 (Protozoology)