Combating the Rise in STIs

The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) recently took place in Seattle Washington, from March 4-7, 2019. Two studies presented at the conference investigated novel ways to fight the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among high risk populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and those with HIV. The first study in France showed that free postal self-sampling kits provided to high risk MSM were attractive, feasible, and identified high rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea. The second was conducted in England, and showed that partner notification using an electronic tool increased partner testing, as well as STI diagnosis and treatment.