Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections: Current and Future Landscape

 

This lecture is designed to provide a broad overview and a brief update on testing and diagnosis of common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It will cover the current CDC 2021 screening, testing, and treatment recommendations for common STI pathogens namely, Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium. The lecture will compare the benefits and limitations of the different testing modalities for the common STI pathogens. Emergence of drug resistance for specific STI pathogens will be discussed. Lastly, an overview of molecular diagnostics and their advantages will be presented.

Originally published on October 9, 2023

Lecture Presenter

Salika M. Shakir, PhD, D(ABMM)

Salika M. Shakir, PhD, D(ABMM)

Assistant Professor (Clinical)
University of Utah School of Medicine
Medical Director, Microbial Amplified Detection, AFB
ARUP Laboratories

Dr. Salika M. Shakir is a medical director for Microbial Amplified Detection and AFB at ARUP Laboratories, and an assistant professor (clinical) at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She received her doctorate degree in microbiology and then pursued a research fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). Dr. Shakir then completed fellowship training in medical and public health microbiology through the University of Utah and ARUP Laboratories. She is board certified by the American Board of Medical Microbiology. Her research and academic interests focus on the implementation of novel diagnostic assays for pathogen detection in clinical laboratories. She has also successfully conducted several industry-sponsored clinical research projects for diagnostic assays and devices in process for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Objectives

After this presentation, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the importance of screening and testing for common STIs
  • Discuss the clinical presentation and organisms associated with STIs
  • Describe the testing methodologies for common STIs

Sponsored by:

University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, and ARUP Laboratories