covid-19 causes shortages in sti testing supplies

global shortages in testing supplies for sexually transmitted infections (stis) and other laboratory equipment are impacting access, according to health canada.during the pandemic, laboratories have been facing a global shortage in critical equipment, including reagents, test tubes and gloves. the shortage does not only affect covid tests and has impacted the test patients can receive for stis.“covid-19 public health measures have restricted the delivery of, and access to, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (stbbi) prevention, testing and treatment services, including harm reduction services across canada,” said a spokesperson for health canada.“driven by the impact of the determinants of health, including stigma and discrimination, it is anticipated that these restrictions have had greater impacts on some key populations.”in response to these concerns, the public health agency of canada surveyed organizations that provide stbbi services to understand the impact the covid response is having on the sexual health of canadians. data from this study is still to come.global concerns over access to sti tests and harm preventionin september, the us centres for disease control and prevention issued a letter addressing the shortage of sti test kits and laboratory supplies and advising laboratories to prioritize tests for at-risk populations. the biggest impact was on chlamydia and gonorrhea nucleic acid amplification testssince then, the american society for microbiology (asm) began collecting information regarding laboratory shortages during the pandemic. throughout the fall, outside of shortages in reagents for covid testing, laboratories primarily reported a shortage in testing supplies for stis, followed by bacteria.cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia in the u.s. declined at the start of the 2019 pandemic, however, in recent weeks have seen a steady resurgence, according to a pre-published research letter in the bmj journal. gonorrhoea case counts have even surpassed numbers from the same time last year.it is unclear if there is overall an increase in the actual rate of infection or if this represents a backlog of patients who would have been tested throughout the spring and summer when access to many sexual health clinics were restricted. the paper notes that the decrease of case counts of gonorrhea over the summer could also be due to disruption in routine medical screenings, which pick up infections even when patients do not show symptoms.in italy, the rates of non-symptomatic sti cases decreased, while acute cases of secondary syphilis and gonorrhoea increased slightly, reads a separate research letter. this highlights the concern that only symptomatic patients are getting tested, while non-symptomatic cases may be flying under the radar.the survey conducted by health canada ended on december 7 —the collected data has yet to be released.additional surveys on communities that have been greater impacted and community engagement strategies are expected to be conducted early 2021.