Prevalence of HIV, Treponema pallidum and Their Coinfection in Men Who Have Sex with Men, Medellín-Colombia

Jaiberth Antonio Cardona-Arias,1 Mauricio Vidales-Silva,1 Alexandra Ocampo-Ramírez,1 Luis Felipe Higuita-Gutiérrez,1,2 Juan Carlos Cataño-Correa3 1Escuela de Microbiología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia; 2Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia sede Medellín, Medellín, Colombia; 3Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Fundación Antioqueña de Infectología, Medellín, ColombiaCorrespondence: Luis Felipe Higuita-Gutiérrez, Email hgfelipe87@gmail.comIntroduction: In Colombia, HIV and gestational syphilis are notifiable events; however, they are poorly investigated infections in men who have sex with men (MSM).Objective: To determine the prevalence of HIV, Treponema pallidum, and their co-infection in MSM treated at a Health Services Provider Institution (HSPI) specialized in infectious diseases from Medellín.Methods: Cross-sectional study with 3454 MSM. Prevalence was determined with its 95% confidence interval; associated factors were identified using Fisher’s Exact test, Pearson’s Chi-square, and trend Chi-square. Multivariate adjustment was performed using logistic regression. Analyses were performed using SPSS 29.0.Results: The prevalence of HIV was 5.7%, T. pallidum 0.7%, and co-infection 0.6%. The prevalence of HIV was higher in MSM aged between 24– 40 years (7.5%), with technical or university studies (10.0%), without health insurance affiliation (12.4%), and those who have had a sexual partner with HIV (36.2%). T. pallidum was higher in MSM without health insurance affiliation (3.4%), who had sexual relations with people diagnosed with an STI (5.9%), and a sexual partner with HIV (12.1%). Co-infection was higher in MSM without health insurance affiliation (2.7%), and those who had a partner with HIV (11.2%).Conclusion: Compared with the general Colombian population, MSM have a higher risk of HIV, but are similar to T. pallidum. The identification of the main associated factors in each infection demonstrates the need to prioritize subgroups of MSM ...