At-home STI tests for women approved as chlamydia cases skyrocket

The first-ever at-home self-test kit for gonorrhoea and chlamydia for women has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods of Australia (TGA), which provides results in minutes.

The self-test kit, which is designed for women by Touch Biotechnolgy, will be available for purchase in pharmacies, distributors and online in the next few weeks.

The kit detects chlamydia and gonorrhoea using a swab sample and produces a positive or negative result within 15 minutes.

Before the self-test, the only other way women could determine if they contracted the STI was with a lab or PCR test, which is often costly and invasive for the patient.

The at-home test, which is an Australian-first, aims to prevent cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which have been skyrocketing over the past 10 years.

“(The at-home test) is offering women a private and accessible option for managing their sexual health,” said Steve Quinlan from Touch Biotechnology.

“The test itself is using new technology which enables us to give reliable results and provide (them) in a way that is fast and convenient.”

In Australia, STIs will affect one in six people in their lifetime, although some infections like gonorrhoea and chlamydia do not show symptoms, meaning some infected people may go undiagnosed.

While infections like gonorrhoea can often present itself with throat, eye and cervix pain, it’s often mistaken for another infection or sickness, therefore going undiagnosed.

There has been a “concerning” increase STI diagnoses in the last 10 years; rates of chlamydia have increased by 26 per cent, while gonorrhoea has skyrocketed by 157 per cent.

In 2023, more than 110,000 cases of chlamydia were reported across the country.

However, as symptoms often go unnoticed, many cases are undiagnosed; fear of Judgement, stigma and lack of understanding surrounding the STI has also led to many people feeling reluctant to test.

For women, if an STI goes undiagnosed, it could have devastating effects on their health, including fertility issues.

“For women in particular, STIs such as gonorrhoea and chlamydia are major causes of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility if they go undiagnosed and untreated,” said General Manager at Touch Biotechnology Mazz Gencer. “These infections can also cause complications to pregnancy and birth because of the risk of mother-to-child transmission. That’s why it’s incredibly important for women to test for STIs when experiencing even the smallest of symptoms or are concerned about a partner’s sexual activity.”