From MedPage Today
Published: November 3, 2009
IDSA: Opt-Out Tests for HIV Would Extend Lives
By Michael Smith
In an unrelated but complementary study, Charlotte Gaydos, DrPH, of Johns Hopkins University, reported that many people would be willing to perform their own HIV tests.
Read more.
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From WebMD Health News
Self-Testing for HIV Proves Easy and Accurate
By Charlene Laino
Nov. 2, 2009 (Philadelphia) -- Self-testing for HIV is easy, accurate, and acceptable to many people, researchers report.
In a new study, more than 99% of HIV results that people obtained via self-testing matched those obtained by hospital workers.
Participants had no trouble distinguishing between positive and negative results, says Johns Hopkins researcher Charlotte Gaydos, DrPH.
Read more.
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From ScienceNews
Web edition posted: November 2, 2009
HIV Self-Test Proves Accurate
By Nathan Seppa
Philadelphia - Using basic written instructions and a standard testing kit, people can self-administer an HIV test with a degree of accuracy equal to what health-care workers achieve, according to a new study presented October 31 at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore offered people in the emergency room of an urban hospital the option of testing themselves for HIV while they were waiting. The 402 people who agreed to do a test were given a self-explanatory test kit that required either a pin-prick or a mouth swab. The participant then put a blood or saliva sample into a tube, and in 20 minutes the kit rendered a verdict of positive or negative for HIV.
Separately, hospital officials replicated the test on each person. The self-tests matched the hospital workers' tests in 400 of the 402 cases, says Johns Hopkins clinical microbiologist Charlotte Gaydos.
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From Medscape Medical News
ISSTDR 2009: Internet-Based Testing Improves Screening for Chlamydia Among Men
By Becky McCall
July 2, 2009 (London, United Kingdon) - Home-based chlamydia testing kits, freely available online, have removed much of the embarrassment and stigma that prevent men from visiting their clinician to find out whether they are infected with the sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Data from a pilot project, led by Charlotte A. Gaydos, PhD, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, were presented here at the 18th International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research Congress.
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From Pediatric News, May 2009
Free Home Chlamydia Tests Net High Return
By Betsy Bates
Los Angeles - Free home swab test kits requested via the Internet have detected hundreds of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and Trichomonas using a simple online recruitment strategy that was so effective that it is now being extended to several states.
The novel "I Want the Kit" program was devised by Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) researchers in 2004, alerting young women to facts about chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases, and offering kits with prepaid postage to allow for confidential testing. Word went out via radio, magazine, and newspaper advertisements in Baltimore initially, but soon Internet traffic began to dominate responses.
"Our original objective was to reach out to teens who might have issues with fear and privacy going to a clinic," Dr. Charlotte A. Gaydos said at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, where she presented interim study results.
Read more.
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The International Union against Sexually Transmitted Diseases (IUSTI)
The International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI) was founded in 1923 and it is organized on both a global and regional basis. It is the oldest international organization with the objective of fostering international cooperation in the control of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. IUSTI is concerned with the medical, scientific, social and epidemiological aspects of sexually transmitted infections and their control. IUSTI is on the Roster of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It is an Official Non-Government Organization in Consultative Status with the World Health Organization. IUSTI organizes frequent international and regional conferences on sexually transmitted infections and, in collaboration with the International Journal for STD and AIDS, publishes expert clinical guidelines for their management. Dr. Charlotte Gaydos is Regional Director for IUSTI-North America.
NEW!! The October 2009 regional report for IUSTI North America is available here in pdf format.
The May 2009 regional report for IUSTI North America is available here in pdf format.
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