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STI testing guidelines for MSM

STI testing guidelines for men who have sex with men were developed by STIGMA group members in 2002 and then revised in 2005 and 2008. The 2008 version was published.

In 2010, the guidelines were revised in partnership with national colleagues and are endorsed by the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine/Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australiasian Society of Infectious Diseases and the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine.

You can find the latest guidelines under Quick Links or click here.

References for the 2010 Guidelines

  1. National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research. HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Annual Surveillance Report 2009. National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW

  2. Fenton KA, Imrie J. Increasing rates of sexually transmitted diseases in homosexual men in Western Europe and the United States: why? Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2005;19(2):311-31)

  3. de Wit, J., Treloar, C., & Wilson, H. (Eds.). (2009). HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia: Annual report of trends in behaviour 2009 (Monograph 4/2009). Sydney: National Centre in HIV Social Research, The University of New South Wales.

  4. Fleming DT, Wasserheit JN. From epidemiological synergy to public health policy and practice: the contribution of other sexually transmitted diseases to sexual transmission of HIV infection. Sex Transm Infect 1999;75:3-17

  5. Gray RT, Hoare A, Prestage GP, Donovan B, Kaldor JM, and Wilson DP. Frequent testing of highly sexually active gay men is required to control syphilis. Sex Transm Dis, 2010, 37(5), 298-305

  6. Wilson DP, Hoare A, Regan DG, Law MG. Importance of promoting HIV testing for preventing secondary transmissions: modelling the Australian HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men. Sex Health. 2009;6:19-33.

  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment guidelines 2006. MMWR 2006;55(No.RR-11#):[1-94].

  8. Lister NA, Smith A, et al. Testing men who have sex with men for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis prior to the introduction of guidelines at an STD clinic in Melbourne. Sex Health, 2004;1:47-50

  9. Ryder N, Lockart B, Bourne C. Is screening asymptomatic men who have sex with men for urethral gonorrhoea worthwhile? Sex Health 2010;7(1):90–91

  10. Danta M, Brown D, Bhagani S et al. Recent epidemic of acute hepatitis C virus in HIV-positive men who have sex with men linked to high-risk sexual behaviours. AIDS 2007; 21,983–991

  11. Jin F, Prestage GP,  et al. Incidence and risk factors for urethral and anal gonorrhoea and chlamydia in a cohort of HIV-negative homosexual men: the Health in Men Study. Sex Transm Inf 2007;83:113-119

  12. Prestage G, Hudson J, Bradley J, etal. TOMS. Three or more study 2008. National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW

  13. Prestage G, Jin F, Kippax S, Zablotska I, Imrie J, Grulich A. Use of illicit drugs and erectile dysfunction medications and subsequent HIV infection among gay men in Sydney, Australia. J Sex Med 2009; 6(8):2311-20

  14. Jin F, Prestage GP, Zablotska I et al. High rates of sexually transmissible infections in HIV positive homosexual men: data from two community-based cohorts. Sex Transm Inf. published online 7 Jun 2007; doi:10.1136/sti.2007.02568

  15. Lister NA, Smith A, et al. Re-infection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections among men who have sex with men. Int J STD & AIDS, 2006;17(6):415-417)

  16. Renault C, Hall C, Kent C, Klausner J. Use of NAATs for STD diagnosis of GC and CT in non-FDA-cleared anatomic specimens. MLO Med Lab Obs. July 2006;10-22.
    http://www.mlo-online.com/articles/0706/0706cover_story.pdf . Accessed 12 October 2007

  17. Whiley DM, Garland SM, Harnett G, Lum G, Smith DW, Tabrizi SN, etal.  Exploring best practice for nucleic acid detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Sex Health,2008,5,17-23

  18. Jin F, Prestage GP, Imrie J, Kippax SC, Donovan B, Templeton DJ, Cunningham A, Mindel A, Cunningham PH, Kaldor JM, Grulich AE. Anal sexually transmitted infections and risk of HIV infection in homosexual men. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2010;53(1):144-9.

  19. Wayal S, Llewellyn C, Smith H, Hankins M, Phillips A, Richardson D, Fisher M. Self-sampling for oropharyngeal and rectal specimens to screen for sexually transmitted infections: acceptability among men who have sex with men. Sex Transm Infect 2009;85:60-64

  20. Alexander S, Ison C, Parry J, Llewellyn C, Wayal S, Richardson D, et al. Self-taken pharyngeal and rectal swabs are appropriate for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in asymptomatic men who have sex with men. Sex Transm Infect. 2008;84(6):488-92.

  21. Templeton DJ, Grulich AE, Yew J, Jin F, Prestage GP, Donovan B, Tabrizi SN. Lymphogranuloma venereum is rare in community-based samples of men who have sex with men. Abstract LB. 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), San Francisco, US, September 2009

  22. Templeton DJ, Jin F, McNally LP, Imrie J, Prestage GP, Donovan B, Cunningham PH, Kaldor JM, Kippax SC, Grulich AE. Prevalence, incidence and risk factors for pharyngeal gonorrhea in the community-based HIM cohort of homosexual men in Sydney, Australia. Sex Transm Infect 2009 (Epub October 19th)

  23. Templeton DJ, Jin F, Imrie J, Prestage GP, Donovan B, Cunningham PH, Kaldor JM, Kippax SC, Grulich AE. Prevalence, incidence and risk factors for pharyngeal chlamydia in the community-based HIM cohort of homosexual men in Sydney, Australia. Sex Transm Inf 2008:84;361-363

  24. Celum C, Wald A, Hughes J, Sanchez J, Reid S, Delany-Moretlwe S. Effect of aciclovir on HIV-1 acquisition in herpes simplex virus 2 seropositive women and men who have sex with men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet; 371 (9630); 2109 – 2119

  25. Quinn TC. Herpes simplex virus type 2 and syphilis infections with HIV: an evolving synergy in transmission and prevention. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 2009l;4(4):294-9)

  26. Vajdic C M, van Leeuwen M T, Jin F, Prestage G, Medley G, Hillman R J, Stevens M P, Botes L P, Zablotska I, Tabrizi S N, Grulich A E.  Anal human papillomavirus genotype diversity and co-infection in a community-based sample of homosexual men. Sex Transm Infect 2009;85:330-335 doi:10.1136/sti.2008.034744 Published Online First 1 April 2009

  27. Ho KS, Cranston RD. Anal cytology screening in HIV-positive men who have sex with men: what's new and what's now?  Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases 2010;23(1):21-25

  28. Jin F, Prestage GP, Kippax SC, Kaldor JM, Dore GJ, Grulich AE. Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C in HIV-negative homosexual men in Sydney, Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2005;29:536-9

  29. National Health and Medical Research Council. The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 9th Edition, AGPS, Canberra 2008

  30. Palefsky, J, for The Male Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine Efficacy Trial Team. Quadrivalent HPV vaccine efficacy against anal intraepithelial neoplasia in men having sex with men. Abstract SS-19.2. Eurogin 2010. Monte Carlo, Monaco.

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