During the colonial period sexually transmitted infections (STIs) came to be recognised as a major public health problem in African cities. Thus, STI control and urban modernisation became deeply entangled as authorities redrew spatial and social boundaries to manage populations and their cross-cultural interaction. Public health measures, urban planning and policing were part of a coordinated effort to neutralise the potential impact of rapidly growing African urban migration on the Belgian Congo’s ‘model’ capital Leopoldville. While STI control was facilitated by new drugs (arsenicals, sulfonamides and antibiotics) to treat syphilis, chancroid, gonorrhoea and chlamydia (bacterial STIs), the effects of the 1929 economic crisis and urban social change illustrated the limits of colonial authority. Redesigning urban spaces and repressive measures to curb polygyny and prostitution operated in a parallel fashion with the expansion of health coverage, new treatments and awareness campaigns. To gain a better understanding of the evolution of STI incidence among African urban populations during the colonial period between 1910 and 1960, extensive archival records and secondary literature were consulted to assess the interplay between improved screening, diagnostic and therapeutic methods with demographic and social change. They show that STI rates, probably peaked during the pre-1929 period and apart from a short period in the early 1930s associated with mass screening, declined until becoming residual in the 1950s. Reflecting upon sanitary interventions and their broader dimensions, the article analyses the evolution of treatment regimes and their impact in the changing urban organisation and environment of the colony’s capital.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the agent of the most common sexually transmitted diseases causing a variety of clinical manifestations ranging from warts to cancer. Oncogenic HPV infection is the major cause of cervical cancer and less frequently of penile cancers. Its presence in semen is widely known, but the effects on fertility are still controversial. We developed a new approach to evaluate virus localisation in the different semen components. We analysed also the specific genotype localisation and viral DNA quantity by qPCR. Results show that HPV DNA can be identified in every fraction of semen: spermatozoa, somatic cells and seminal plasma. Different samples can contain the HPV DNA in different fractions and several HPV genotypes can be found in the same fraction. Additionally, different fractions may contain multiple HPV genotypes in different relative quantity. We analysed the wholeness of HPV DNA in sperm cells by qPCR. In one sample more than half of viral genomes were defective, suggesting a possible recombination event. The new method allows to easily distinguish different sperm infections and to observe the possible effects on semen. The data support the proposed role of HPV in decreased fertility and prompt new possible consequences of the infection in semen.

The Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations recognize the importance of making progress in the eradication and treatment of sexually transmitted deceases (STD). STD are among the most widespread diseases in the world and have the highest prevalence in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current study explored the associations between the allocation of the development assistance for health (DAH) in 54 African countries and key development indicators – STD incidence, Gross Domestic Product per capita, health expenditure, and life expectancy at birth. It employed descriptive statistical methods, the matrix scatter plot analysis and the Pearson correlation test for this purpose. The findings indicated that there was a considerable increase in the volume of the DAH given to control and prevent STD in Africa over the period of 2002–2011. A statistically significant positive association was detected between the STD incidence and the health aid allocations. At the same time, the imbalance in the distribution of the health aid between the major and minor aid recipients in the continent increased. The study concludes by discussing policy implications that can be drawn from these findings.

The protozoan Toxoplasma gondii infects about one-third of the world's population. The consumption of raw meat, contact with cats, contact with soil, and ingestion of food or water contaminated with soil are considered to be the most important sources of infection. Still in most women who were infected during pregnancy, no definitive source of infection is found. In 2014–2016, independent sources of T. gondii infection were searched for by gathering epidemiological data from 1865 (519 infected) responders. Touching garden soil (odds ratio (OR) 3·14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·3–6·35), sustaining cat-related injuries (OR 2·16, 95% CI 1·25–3·74), and eating improperly washed root vegetables (OR 1·71, 95% CI 1·02–2·87), but not risky sexual behavior (OR 1·22, 95% CI 0·79–1·90), were the predictors of infection. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection had been increasing up to ages 35–50 in men and ages 50–54 in women. Past those ages, seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis has been decreasing. This suggests that the natural decrease of anamnestic antibodies concentrations over time leads to positivity-to-negativity seroconversion in many subjects. If this is true, then the prevalence of T. gondii infection in a general population and its potential impacts on public health could be much larger than generally believed.

The highly remote pastoralist communities in Kaokoland, Namibia, have long been presumed to have high gonorrhoea prevalence. To estimate gonorrhoea prevalence and correlates of infection, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 446 adults across 28 rural villages. Gonorrhoea status was determined from urethral and vaginal swabs via qPCR assay. All participants answered a closed-ended interview about demographics, sexual behaviour and symptom history. Sixteen per cent of participants had high-level infections (⩾ID50 dose) and 48% had low-level infections (<ID50 dose). Women had higher prevalence than men of both high- and low-level infections. High-level infections were regionally and seasonally clustered, occurring in young adults in the Ehama region during the winter. Low-level infections were distributed homogenously across demographic characteristics, season, and region. All low-level infections and most high-level infections (men 78%, women 95%) were asymptomatic and left untreated. The epidemic-like nature of high-level gonorrhoea cases suggests that intervention efforts can be focused on seasons of high social activity.