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Urgent need to improve sexually transmitted infection screening for MSM in Europe
Roger Pebody, 2013-11-01 07:10:00

Across 40 large European cities, less than one third of men who have sex with men (MSM) have been screened for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the past year, according to a study in the November issue of Sexually Transmitted Infections. Whereas blood tests were commonly performed, the number of men tested for genital or anal infections, or being physically examined, was generally low and varied substantially between cities.

Poor results were reported by men living in several cities which have a large gay commercial scene, including Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Barcelona, Zurich, Madrid and Paris. Less surprisingly, men in cities such as Istanbul, Tallinn and Ljubljana had received inadequate screening.

Much better results were reported by men living in cities in England, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

“Our data suggest that in most major European cities, anal/genital warts and rectal gonorrhoea and Chlamydia infections are profoundly underdiagnosed among MSM”, write the investigators. This means that countries’ reported STI rates cannot easily be compared – high figures may reflect health services which screen in the absence of symptoms and which employ comprehensive diagnostic procedures.

Source:1