Screening for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis at entertainment venues among men who have sex with men

BACKGROUND: To assess the prevalence and increase awareness of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections among men who have sex with men, a screening program was conducted at three inner-city homosexual entertainment venues and one community function. STUDY DESIGN: Each venue was accessed twice over a 3-month period between March and June 2000. First-catch urine specimens were collected for analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and throat swabs were collected for culture and PCR. RESULTS: A total of 202 men were tested during the 7 screening nights, including 16 who were tested more than once. From the 186 men tested for the first time, 184 urine specimens were collected, of which 8 (4.3%; 95% CI, 1.9-7.8%) were PCR-positive for C trachomatis and 1 (0.5%; 95% CI, 0-2.1%) was PCR-positive for N gonorrhoeae. Of the 161 throat swabs collected, none were positive for C trachomatis or N gonorrhoeae. CONCLUSIONS: C trachomatis is a potentially significant pathogen in this population of urban homosexual men. Screening programs such as these are valuable as health-promotion exercises.