Molecular diagnostics of sexually transmitted diseases

Abstract

Molecular techniques for identifying and detecting microorganisms have been proven readily adaptable for use in the clinical diagnostic laboratory. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) constitute the commonest infectious diseases globally and bear significant consequences for the individual as well as public health of the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are 19 million new STD cases each year. Nearly half of the cases occur in individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years. In particular, cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea exceeded 1.2 million reported in 2009 and some estimates suggest that over half of the new chlamydia and gonorrhea infections remain undiagnosed [1]. Globally, an estimated one million new cases of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur each day, and half a million babies die in sub-Saharan Africa alone each year due to congenital syphilis [1, 2]. In the last decade, rapid development of molecular techniques have gradually shifted the paradigm of laboratory diagnosis from traditional biological to molecular detection of major agents of STIs.