Laboratory diagnosis of sexually transmitted diseases

Overview

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among the most common causes of illness throughout the world and have been ranked among the top ten diseases in developing countries for which adults seek health care services. STDs are an important public health problem, not only because of their severe complications and sequelae but also because they increase the risk for transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

This handbook presents a comprehensive guide of standard procedures for detecting and diagnosing STDs. It should be a useful tool for clinical microbiologists and medical technologists. It is conceived as a practical bench manual, tuned to the needs and capacities of laboratories at different levels in the health care system.

Each disease is covered in a separate chapter which provides detailed information on the collection and transport of suitable specimens and their subsequent testing in the laboratory. A summary of the appropriate diagnostic tests for use at different levels of the laboratory system, and lists of the media, reagents, stains and other equipment and materials required to carry out the tests are contained in the annexes.