Virus testing undermined screening, fight against STDS
WASHINGTON – After an unprecedented push to test and track COVID-19, public health workers are grappling with a worrisome side effect: a collapse in screening for sexually transmitted diseases that have been on the rise for years.
Testing for diseases like chlamydia and gonorrhea plummeted in many parts of the U.S. last year as COVID-19 sapped away resources and staff. Health officials say this testing gap left them unable to track or control outbreaks of the diseases, which were already at record levels.
“It’s clear there have been mass disruptions to testing, surveillance and clinical care and that’s likely making sexually transmitted infections worse than ever,” said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, which represents state and local health workers.
Many STD clinics shut their doors or slashed hours during lockdowns last spring. Staffers who previously helped track the infections were reassigned to focus on COVID-19. And labs that process most STD tests were forced to ration supplies to focus on the flood of COVID-19 samples.
Survey data from Harvey’s group shows that even in January this year, 40% of STD programs were still operating with reduced staff due to COVID-19. That’s led to cutbacks in services to find and fight infections that can often spread will little or no immediate symptoms.
In Vermont, Daniel Daltry is one of just two full-time state employees who trace HIV, hepatitis and other highrisk infections. Over the past year, he’s shifted most of his time to COVID-19 while also training 160 new employees hired to help with coronavirus contact tracing.
Daltry and his colleague have continued contact tracing for syphilis and HIV throughout the outbreak.
“But anything else we just couldn’t do it,” said Daltry, noting they did not track diseases like gonorrhea.
Like other areas, Vermont saw plummeting numbers of confirmed STD cases, recording a 50% drop in reported chlamydia and a 90% drop in HIV compared to 2019 – largely, experts say, a result of reduced testing.
The drop-off reflects national trends reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last fall.
Analyzing data from a national lab service, CDC said in September that tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were down between 30% to 50% last spring compared to the prior year, before recovering somewhat in early summer.
Doctors typically discuss and screen for STDS as part of routine care for sexually active adults and teenagers. Annual testing for common infections is recommended for high-risk groups, including women under 25 and gay and bisexual men.