Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Immunisation Status among Registered Sex Workers.

Retrospective, observational, monocentric pilot study in the City and District of Landshut, Lower Bavaria (Germany). Using archived standardized consultation forms and laboratory reports, we compiled routine data from mandatory health consultations and results from voluntary, anonymous serologic testing at the Public Health Service (PHS) of Landshut during the years 2017–2021. The health consultations were conducted in the context of confidential individual consultations on the premises of the Social Services of the District of Landshut, whereby standardized statistical paper forms were recorded and archived by the socio-pedagogical staff immediately after the consultations. The group of reported sex workers who also agreed to a blood test were sent to a medical members of the PHS for blood collection which was sent to an accredited laboratory of the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL).
Study population: 523 consultations (July 01, 2017 to December 12, 2021). Serology was available for 48 unique individuals (January 01, 2019 to December 31, 2021) who consented to blood testing. All included individuals were 18 years or older, most had a binary gender, were registered sex workers, and were seen by the staff of the local PHS.
Study area: The study area comprised a total of about 237,000 inhabitants (City of Landshut: nearly 72,000 and District of Landshut: over 165,000 inhabitants) with a predominantly rural structure.
Ethical approval and consent: Project number 22-0037 was discussed by the Ethics Committee of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München in accordance with faculty law and §15 of the Professional Code for Physicians in Bavaria. The ethics committee raised no objections to the study being conducted in the form presented. The registered sex workers had to appear at the PHS of Landshut for the mandatory health consultations according to §10 ProstSchG and provide their personal data. These personal data were strictly protected from access by unauthorized persons and documented in accordance with data protection regulations. The additional laboratory tests offered were voluntarily carried out and could therefore be refused by the sex workers. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects. All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations.