PREVALENCE OF TREPONEMA PALLIDUM IN THE POPULATION STUDENT OF THE INSTITUTE SUPERIOR OF TECHNOLOGY OF MAMOU

Introduction: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Treponema pallidum of which humans are the natural host. Objective: carry out the voluntary screening campaign with a view to protecting the health of Mamou IST students. Method: this is a prospective and descriptive cross-sectional study which took place from January 10 to February 13, 2023. Results: the diagnosis of syphilis among the 245 student volunteers gave 11 positive cases, or 4.49%. The socio-demographic parameters revealed that of the 11 students with syphilis, the male gender was the most represented with a prevalence of 81.82% compared to 18.18% for the female gender. The age group of 26-33 was the most represented with 54.55% followed by that of 17-25 with 36.36%. Single people were the most represented in this study with 8 positive cases, i.e. 72.73% compared to 27.27% among Married people. The high prevalence of Treponema pallidum among single people could be explained not only by their greater representativeness within the student population but also their large number among the volunteers surveyed. Students from the Technical Departments of Laboratory and Technology of the Equipment Biomedical were the most represented with 36.36 and 27.27% respectively. They are followed by students from the Energy and Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Departments with each 18.18%. Conclusion: Syphilis is a major public health problem because it could cause serious consequences in humans ranging from sterility to damage to the nervous system and capable of leading to the death of the sick subject. The introduction of studies on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) into school curricula could promote a better level of knowledge among students about the disease syphilis.