THE ESSENTIAL
- Home tests make it easier to detect sexually transmitted infections.
- New antibiotics offer effective oral treatments.
- This progress comes as STIs reached record highs before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Test yourself, from your living room, to detect a sexually transmitted infection (STI): in the United States, the authorities have recently validated several technological innovations in this area. A way to facilitate and encourage screening, at a time when “Sexual health can be stigmatized and people may be hesitant to get tested”explains Dr. Ina Park, expert on the subject and researcher at the University of California, cited by Euronews.
Home tests for faster detection
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), America’s drug watchdog, approved the first home test capable of simultaneously detecting three common infections in women: chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis. This test, developed by Visby Medical, includes a vaginal swab, an electronic analysis device and an online application. The results are available within a few hours, accompanied by a medical teleconsultation. Total cost: 150 dollars (around 127 euros).
This type of test makes it possible to better monitor patients, while “many are difficult to contact again and some are never treated and are lost to follow-up”underlines Dr Gary Schoolnik, medical manager of Visby, quoted by Euronews. Studies have shown that the self-test detects the three infections with an accuracy rate of at least 98%, comparable to analyzes carried out in the clinic.
Last May, the FDA also validated the Teal Wand test, the first kit allowing women to collect a sample themselves for papillomavirus screening (the virus responsible for cervical cancer), to then send to a laboratory.
Two new antibiotics against gonorrhea
That’s not all: two new oral medications have been authorized to treat gonorrhea, a bacteria increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Nuzolvenc, in the form of granules to dissolve, and Bluejepa, a tablet, thus become an alternative to ceftriaxone injection, the standard treatment until now. “We were reduced to just one class of antibiotics to treat gonorrhea. Having two new options in the same year is very positive”says Dr. Park.
This progress comes as STIs reached record highs before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States nevertheless shows a decline in cases of gonorrhea for the third year in a row, as well as a decrease in adult cases of chlamydia and syphilis. Experts see this as a fallout from home testing, declining sexual activity among young people, and the preventive use of antibiotics.
