Internet-Based Testing for STIs Increase Uptake

Providing internet-based testing for sexually transmitted infections (e-STI testing) could increase the number of people being tested for syphilis, HIV, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea, including among high-risk groups, according to a study published Dec. 27, 2017 in PLOS Medicine. e-STI testing doubled testing uptake compared to testing uptake among participants randomized to testing at usual care health clinics. The World Health Organization says that increasing testing, diagnosis, and treatment of STIs and reducing time to treatment is a global priority to reduce the prevalence of STIs and their downstream consequences. In the United Kingdom, like in the United States, STI testing levels remains sub-optimal. FDA Weighs Self-Sampling for Pap Testing In early January a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expert panel met to address the feasibility, benefits and risks of self-collection cervical sampling for cervical cancer screening by Pap testing. Speakers were split on whether the benefits of self-sampling, primarily increasing access to testing particularly among underserved populations, outweighed the risks posed by accuracy concerns and uncertain standards for follow-up on abnormal results. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented data showing that screening levels have remained stable since 2000 (about 80 percent) and that certain populations remain […]