Sexually transmitted diseases in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a study of patients attending a teaching hospital clinic

Abstract

SUMMARY Of 716 men attending consecutively a dermatovenereological clinic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over a period of a year 70-1% had non-specific genital infection, a figure which is four times that for gonorrhoea and 13 times that for syphilis. Most of the patients were single men aged between 20 and 29 years and had acquired their infections abroad. Although Riyadh is a cosmopolitan city with a large foreign population 79% of the infections occurred in local inhabitants.tioners, others consult pharmacists and native doctors. Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is a cosmopolitan city with an estimated population of one million people. It is expanding rapidly as a result of the oil boom and is called the "city of cranes" because of the amount of construction work in progress. Development projects have attracted workers from various countries, mainly Egyptians, Yemenis, Koreans, Philippinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Americans, and Europeans.The majority of the population was not born in Riyadh, and only one in eight residents over 12 years of age is native to the city. Of the total population 50%7o are under 20 years of age and 5707o are men. The average age for marriage is between 16 and 18 years for girls and between 20 and 25 for men. ' There is a stringent moral code among the native population because of strict adherence to Islam; premarital and extramarital sexual relationships are not only forbidden but are a criminal offence. Nevertheless, sexually transmitted disease (STD) is prevalent in Riyadh. Some reasons for this are extensive travelling abroad by local inhabitants, affluence, the provision of paid home-leave for most expatriates, and long separation of some foreign employees from their wives.Riyadh has four major hospitals, which provide facilities for the investigation and treatment of STDs. Some patients seek treatment from private practiAddress for reprints: Dr S S Pareek, Faculty of Medicine, University of Riyadh, P 0 Box 2925, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Accepted for publication 27 February 1981 Patients and methods Seven hundred and sixteen men were seen consecutively in the dermatovenereological clinic of the King Abdul Aziz Teaching Hospital, Riyadh, between December 1978 and December 1979. BACTERIOLOGYUrethral specimens were collected from all men who presented with a urethral discharge. A sterile cottonwool swab was introduced into the anterior urethra and gently rotated; the swab was placed in a transport medium and sent to the microbiology department where it was plated on Thayer-Martin medium (Oxoid) and on chocolate agar. After incubation in a candle jar at 37°C for 24-48 hours gonococci were identified by their morphology and by oxidase and sugar fermentation tests.

Knowledge and awareness of sexually transmitted disease among male university students in Taif, Saudi Arabia

“…The older generation, being more religious and relatively free from Western influence, is less likely to contract STD. [8] To date, prevention and control of STDs, especially among the youth, is a low priority for most countries. Lack of awareness of the problem of STDs and their complications, competition for resources to control other important health problems and the reluctance of public health policy makers to deal with diseases associated with sexual behaviour have all played a role in this neglect.…”