BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
There is need for more Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STIs) point of care tests so as to determine the exact burden of the diseases in the country.
And without reliable data, more STIs continue to spread as the majority of them are asymptomatic.
This was revealed by Anna Machiya, the National Coordinator for STI Prevention and Condom Distribution in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, at a recent Media Science Café organised by the Health Communicators Forum.
“We also need to have some surveillance that maybe gives us an indication as to how big the problem of STIs in the country is, and without data on surveillance, on the magnitude of STIs it is very very difficult to really know what is happening.
“What we see now are those that become sick and present themselves at our facilities and these are the STIs that we are able to capture.
“So these ones that are asymptomatic continue to spread, and this is one reason that also fuels the spread of STIs.
“So now there is also talk of considering to move from syndromic approach to etiological approach, where we also use the specific laboratory tests to identify these STIs but the cost of doing such tests is quite high.
“So as more cheaper point of care tests are available on the market, the better it will be for us to also be able to screen,” said Machiya.
She added: “right now we have point of care test for syphilis and we are actually providing that to clients or to people that present with an STI, so we test for HIV and we test for syphilis.”
It is said syndromic approach focuses on the diagnosis and management of a specific set of symptoms or a syndrome, without necessarily identifying the underlying cause.
As for the etiological approach, it seeks to identify the underlying cause or origin of a disease, or symptom. It focuses on understanding the root cause, mechanism or pathophysiology.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 1 million curable STIs are acquired every day worldwide in people 15-49 years old, the majority of which are asymptomatic.
WHO further adds that in 2020 there were an estimated 374 million new infections in people 15-49 years with 1-4 curable STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and trichomoniasis.
Machiya added that the main aims of STI control are to prevent the development of diseases, complications and sequelae, to interrupt the transmission of sexually acquired infections and to reduce the risk of HIV infection. She stressed that STIs are avoidable, treatable and curable hence early treatment is essential.
“For prevention, we should take note of social and cultural determinants, promote safer sexual behaviour (abstinence, delayed sexual debut and promote use of condoms for penetrative sexual acts,” added Machiya.
