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WASHINGTON, Jun 09, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Researchers have developed a method to help women self-test confidentially for chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases while providing public-health authorities information on the spread of STDs using the Internet.
The researchers, at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said they created the test procedure in hopes of eliminating unreported sexual diseases among young women in the city.
They sent participants a kit in an unmarked brown envelope containing a sterile cotton vaginal swab, an informational survey and a sealable vial for the specimen, as well as instructions on how to collect the swab and a pre-addressed postpaid envelope to return the sample.
Participants request the kits by going to the Web site iwantthekit.org.
Along with the sample, each participant completes confidential survey information. If infection is found, the woman is offered an in-house examination with a clinician.
The lead researcher, Dr. Charlotte Gaydos, an associate professor at The John Hopkins School of Medicine, said the kits also can be ordered via phone or in person but said the majority of participants had utilized e-mail.
"Eighty-seven and a half percent of women ordered the self-testing kit (via the Web site) through e-mail." Gaydos, leader of the study conducted by John Hopkins, told United Press International. "Only 3 percent ordered the kits in person."
The researchers publicized the kits' availability to youth in the Baltimore area.
"We mainly advertised on popular radio," Gaydos said.
Gaydos presented the study results Wednesday at the 105th general meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Atlanta. She said the study suggests online accessibility to self-testing kits for STDs is an effective way to tackle "the spread, detection and treatment of this disease."
In a news release, Gaydos said she thinks ease of use and personal embarrassment have discouraged young women from seeking test results for sexual diseases. The humiliation and stress involved with pelvic examinations are also most likely a factor in the in-home self-test's effectiveness.
"Most in the survey reported that the kit was easy or very easy to use," she said.
The kits, which were funded by the city of Baltimore and test for both chlamydia and gonorrhea, cost $10 to manufacture but were provided free of charge.
The study of the Web site and kits began in August 2004, and by January 2005 more than 400 of the 1,100 kits distributed were returned with samples, including 10 percent that tested positive for chlamydia. Only three women tested positive for gonorrhea.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site, chlamydia -- a bacterial infection that causes up to 2.8 million new infections each year -- can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a general infection of the uterus that can cause "infertility, abscess formation ... and chronic pelvic pain."
Jessica Frickey, a CDC spokeswoman, said chlamydia, if left untreated, also can increase the risk of acquiring HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
"Chlamydia screening is very important," Frickey told UPI. "The CDC encourages all sexually active women under the age of 25 to get tested annually."
Dr. Johannes Van Dam, director of the Reproductive Health Program at The Population Council in Washington, said because many cases of chlamydia have no symptoms, the infection often can lead to serious long-term reproductive damage.
"About two-thirds of women and one-half of men display no symptoms of infection," Van Dam told UPI. "About 40 percent of untreated cases lead to infertility."
Gaydos said although the Johns Hopkins study was conducted only with women, she and colleagues are considering requests to adapt the test and survey to men.
"There have been 50 requests to open up pilot studies for men," she said, adding that the study area also is expanding. She said she plans to include women in the Washington, D.C., area next year, although because of funding limitations there are no plans to expand further.
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Ray Pregeant is an intern for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail@upi.com
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
