Approaches for Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

South African guidelines call for syndromic management of most STIs, including HPV. With this approach, symptomatic individuals are given treatment for a diagnosed “syndrome” rather than a specific pathogen. Although this approach is recommended for low-resourced settings, the frequent lack of any or specific symptoms in women infected with (an) STI(s) may lead to over or under treatment and continued transmission of STIs and HIV. New technologies, including point-of-care diagnostics, may offer alternative, cost-effective strategies for improving diagnosis and treatment for women and men alike. HE²RO’s  work in this area includes review of the literature and modelling to explore the hypothetical implications, including the costs, of introducing point-of-care diagnosis for special populations such as pregnant women, sex workers or STI-symptomatic individuals.