This week PLOS Medicine launches the research content in our Collection on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), advised by Guest Editors Nicola Low of the University of Bern, Switzerland and Nathalie Broutet of the World Health Organization (WHO).
More than 1 million people acquire an STI each day. These infections, when not treated, take their toll in grievous outcomes--notably cancer deaths, infertility, and birth complications including stillbirth. Social stigma that limits care-seeking, causal pathogens with diverse characteristics, and commonly mild or nonexistent symptoms all contribute to the pernicious effects of STIs.
Four Research Articles will be published in the Collection in December, addressing diverse topics in the field. In the first study, Christine Johnston of the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues use cross-sectional data to examine the prevalence of dual-strain HSV-2 infection. This measure of immune system efficacy can signal potential for vaccine development. Next, Emma Wilson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and colleagues report on their trial assessing the impact of an online STI testing service on uptake and diagnosis. Further, in a qualitative thematic analysis, Kipruto C. Chesang of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Nairobi and colleagues present a thematic analysis of interviews with Kenyan STI health care providers (HCPs), providing the HCP perspective on programming, training, and stigma in STI care in that setting. Finally, the Collection touches on the global issue of market availability of low-cost antibiotics for STIs. Using country-level surveys and stakeholder interviews, Stephen Nurse-Findlay of the World Health Organization and colleagues investigate the global frequency of benzathine penicillin shortages and uncover commonly noted causes.
Guest Editors Nicola Low of the University of Bern, Switzerland, and Nathalie Broutet of the WHO have authored December's PLOS Medicine Editorial, which highlights key advances from the month's Collection papers and discusses prominent challenges and priorities in the field. The Collection will continue with further research and discussion articles appearing over the next few weeks.
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Editorial
Funding:
The authors received no funding for this work.
Competing Interests:
We have read the journal's policy and have the following conflicts: NL receives a stipend as a Specialty Consulting Editor for PLOS Medicine, and serves on the journal's editorial board.
Citation:
Low N, Broutet NJ (2017) Sexually transmitted infections--Research priorities for new challenges. PLoS Med 14(12): e1002481. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002481
Author Affiliations:
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Department of Reproductive Health Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002481
Other Articles in the Collection:
Research Article
Citation:
Johnston C, Magaret A, Roychoudhury P, Greninger AL, Reeves D, Schiffer J, et al. (2017) Dual-strain genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in the US, Peru, and 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: A nested cross-sectional viral genotyping study. PLoS Med 14(12): e1002475. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002475
Author Affiliations:
Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Genomics and Bioinformatics Resource, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002475
Research Article
Citation:
Wilson E, Free C, Morris TP, Syred J, Ahamed I, Menon-Johansson AS, et al. (2017) Internet-accessed sexually transmitted infection (e-STI) testing and results service: A randomised, single-blind, controlled trial. PLoS Med 14(12): e1002479. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002479
Author Affiliations:
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, London, United Kingdom
King's Centre for Global Health and Health Partnerships, School of Population Health & Environmental Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
Burrell Street Sexual Health Clinic, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Department of Sexual Health and HIV, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002479
Research Article
Citation:
Chesang K, Hornston S, Muhenje O, Saliku T, Mirjahangir J, Viitanen A, et al. (2017) Healthcare provider perspectives on managing sexually transmitted infections in HIV care settings in Kenya: A qualitative thematic analysis. PLoS Med 14(12): e1002480. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002480
Author Affiliations:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nairobi, Kenya
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
University of California, San Francisco, Nairobi, Kenya
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
National AIDS and STD Control Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002480
Research Article
Citation:
Nurse-Findlay S, Taylor MM, Savage M, Mello MB, Saliyou S, Lavayen M, et al. (2017) Shortages of benzathine penicillin for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis: An evaluation from multi-country surveys and stakeholder interviews. PLoS Med 14(12): e1002473. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002473
Author Affiliations:
Department of Reproductive Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Division of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Clinton Health Access Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Pan American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
African Regional Office, World Health Organization, Brazzaville, Congo
Intercountry Support Team for East and Southern Africa, World Health Organization, Harare, Zimbabwe
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002473
Journal
PLoS Medicine