Finally: STD-detecting condoms

Testing for so many STIs at once, even if it were scientifically feasible, brings up all sorts of concerns related to screening for diseases in the first place. “Right now we do risk stratification based on patient’s risk and age and habits to determine what STIs to test them for,” Baldwin said. For example, women under 30 are almost never screened for human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, because approximately 80 percent of all sexually active people have had it at some point, usually in their 20s, and most strains resolve on their own. (Most that don’t can be prevented with the HPV vaccine but not with a condom since HPV can be transmitted via any contact with the genitals.) Doctors currently don’t usually screen patients for herpes unless they have the cold sores, Baldwin said, because plenty of people have antibodies to herpes without having the infection or being contagious. Only high-risk individuals, such as those who use intravenous drugs or have unprotected sex with many partners, are typically tested for hepatitis C.

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On the other hand, widespread testing for chlamydia would be an excellent idea, Baldwin said, especially since the CDC recommends annual testing for all sexually active individuals under 25. Chlamydia is the most prevalent STI, affecting 1.7 percent of all people ages 14 to 39. In particular, 4.7 percent of all sexually active females between ages 14 and 24 and 13.5 percent of sexually active black females in that age group have chlamydia.

“We are nowhere near the technology to put something like this on a condom and have the condom still work for birth control, but I applaud these adolescents for thinking outside the box and for promoting testing for STIs,” Baldwin said.

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