Healthcare Digital November 2023 | Page 40

HOSPITALS
The impact of COVID-19 on sexual health Moving quickly in disease management is always important , and testing is the first step in helping to manage the spread of any infectious disease , including STIs .
Feenstra says : “ Patients presenting symptoms , who think they are at risk , or have come in contact with an individual who has been exposed or infected , should get tested as soon as possible .”
She adds that many patients with STIs do not show any symptoms , while the presence of infection can impact their health and they can transmit the infection to others , and that this is why screening programmes are in place and regular participation in screening is important .
She says : “ Once informed of their infection status , patients can discuss with their clinicians the most appropriate treatment and how to make sure they are not spreading the infection to others . From a public health perspective , having accurate testing data aids officials in monitoring how the infections are spreading and what areas may be having surges .
“ This allows them to properly allocate resources as needed if certain communities are witnessing spikes .”
According to the World Health Organisation , each year there are 374m new STI infections , which are mostly chlamydia , gonorrhoea , syphilis and trichomoniasis . Those who have had an STI often ask why the STI test can ’ t be done at home ?
“ Technology isn ’ t currently ready to support ‘ true ’ at-home testing for STIs , in the same way that antigen tests helped with COVID- 19 diagnostics ,” says Feenstra . “ The current at-home solution for STIs involves selfcollection of samples in the comfort of one ’ s own home and then shipping out the samples

“Once informed of their infection status , patients can discuss with their clinicians what is the most appropriate treatment ”

JELENA FEENSTRA SENIOR MANAGER FOR MEDICAL & SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS , THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC
to be tested in a laboratory , which Feenstra sees as an advantage in terms of privacy and ease of access .”
She adds : “ Labs typically use molecular diagnostic tests which are able to provide highly accurate results quickly and offer the advantage of testing for multiple STIs from one sample , regardless of whether the sample was self-collected or collected by a healthcare professional .”
However , the quality of sample is very important for obtaining reliable results and
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