STI Podcast

In this podcast, we focus on the bacterial genitourinary pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium (MGEN). We have known this pathogen for a long-time but only in recent years we have been testing and treating more frequently for this bacteria. In this conversation with Dr Fabiola Martin, STI's Podcast editor, Dr Emma Sweeney, Prof Catriona Bradshaw and Prof Nicola Low provide a clinical and research update...

Today we focus on NATSAL and NATSAL COVID. These are Britain’s National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. NATSAL has been undertaken every 10 years since 1990 and is a key data source for sexual and reproductive health policy development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of sexual lifestyles, prompting the initiation of the NATSAL-COVID study with the aim of understa...

On the World HTLV Day (10th November), we focus on how the Human T leukaemia virus affects people, and review new developments in HTLV treatment and vaccination medicine. HTLV is a retrovirus similar to HIV which incorporates its DNA indefinitely into the human CD4 T lymphocytes. It is predominantly transmitted through condomless sex, but also from mother-to-child and through contact with HTLV pos...

In this podcast we discuss the reported impact of HIV infection on people who are hospitalised with COVID-19, by reviewing three publications: 1. Outcomes of COVID-19 Related Hospitalization Among People With HIV in the ISARIC WHO Clinical Characterization Protocol: A Prospective Observational Study. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 23 October 2020 (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nC...

On World Hepatitis Day 2021, we discover how Australian patients, patient advocates and health care providers are working together to reach the WHO elimination targets for chronic Hepatitis C virus infection. Professor Gail Matthews, Infectious Diseases Physician and Program Head of Therapeutic Research and Vaccine Program at The Kirby Institute, Ms Carrie Fowlie, CEO of Hepatitis Australia, and M...

July 2021 marks 40 years from the first reports of a 'strange disease' soon to be known as HIV/Aids. In this "very special edition" themed Sexual Diversity and the City, the STI & HIV 2021 World Congress is inviting people from all walks of life, with some being able to participate for free. Listen to all the details in this conversation of STI's Social Media Editor Harrison Austin with Henry...

Today we focus on the challenges and success stories of HPV vaccine uptake, specifically in Italy and Australia. The HPV vaccine rollout has translated into a significant reduction in the prevalence of cervical and anal cancers. Since its discovery, many different strategies have been used to increase and maintain its uptake in school children, both girls and boys. STI's Podcast Editor, Dr Fabiola...

Thousands of people are currently being vaccinated against COVID-19 worldwide. In this podcast, we discuss if the authorised vaccines are useful to people who live with HIV. STI's Podcast Editor, Dr Fabiola Martin, interviews Prof Anna Maria Garretti, Diseases at the Policlinico Tor Vergata, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Chair of the British HIV Association Vaccination Guidelines Panel, and Edit...

In this podcast, we explore how the HIV endemic has evolved over time in Indonesia and is tracking against UNAIDS 90:90:90 treatment for all goals. We discuss the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the already stressed health care system in Indonesia. Dr Fabiola Martin interviews Dr Keerti Gedela, Consultant physician and researcher in HIV and sexual health medicine, Chelsea & Westminster...

In this podcast, we focus on why health care services need to adapt and provide inclusive and non-discriminating services for people independent of their gender or sexual preferences. Dr Fabiola Martin interviews Dr Jae Sevelius, Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco, USA, and Dr Graham Neilsen, Sexual Health Specialist at Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital and Stonewall M...

In the third episode to honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are discussing the U=U message with Professor Paul Volberding, University of California San Francisco. We touch on the recently published multicentre study: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 25 countries discuss by Okoli et al. Read the op...

In the second episode to honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are discussing the U=U message with Brent Allen, HIV patient representative. He explains why U=U means so much to people who live with HIV and those who are HIV negative. Read the related paper: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): Awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 25 countr...

To honor World AIDS Day, on the 1st December, we are bringing you three special interviews over the next few days. In this first episode, we are discussing the U=U message with Chinyere Okoli, clinical pharmacist at ViiV Health care and principle investigator of the study: Undetectable equals untransmittable (U = U): Awareness and associations with health outcomes among people living with HIV in 2...

Dr Fabiola Martin talks to Dr John McSorely about the rapid adjustments applied to UK's sexual health care services as a response to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and deployment of sexual health care providers to support other health care services. They discuss implemented service innovations such as 'Digital First' and 'Telehealth'. Dr John McSorley is a Consultant Physician in Sexual Health and HIV...

The original content of this podcast was removed in September 2022 after a participant withdrew their consent. This was the first in a series of podcasts on HIV and COVID-19 co-infection, and was recorded at a time when vaccines and treatments were not yet available. You can find later episodes on HIV and COVID-19 co-infection on the Sexually Transmitted Infections channel: - https://soundcloud.co...

Two women die a week in consequence of domestic violence and abuse in the UK. It is increasingly recognised that enquiry by healthcare practitioners can enable pathways to earlier intervention and support. Editor-in-Chief of Sexually Transmitted Infections, Jackie Cassell, is joined by two specialists in the field to discuss the special issue of the journal on domestic and intimate partner violenc...

Dr James Bingham, regarded by many as a father figure of the modern speciality, tells Lt Col Ngozi Dufty about the beginning of the field of venereal disease in the UK and how the origins of the sexual health service developed in consequence of the need to protect the health of the military troops first, and then the general population as a result. This interview is one of two podcasts published b...

Dr. George Kinghorn, genitourinary medicine physician with 35 years' experience, talks to Dr. Maryam Shahmanesh (Consultant and Senior Lecturer at the University College London and Mortimer Market Centre) about the “dramatic changes” introduced in the treatment of STIs with the Venereal Disease Act 1917. Professor George Kinghorn also analyses how the effects of the easier access to travel, the in...

How can burdens and trends of gonorrhoea and syphilis be estimated using surveillance data routinely collected in low- and middle-income countries? Eline Korenromp, epidemiologist from the Avenir Health, Geneva, Switzerland, tells STI Editor Jackie Cassell how the Spectrum-STI tool, developed at request of the World Health Organization, facilitates standardised, country-level estimation of trends...

Audit vs. Quality Improvement Methodology. How to undertake quality improvement and integrate it into GUM and HIV services? Hanna Bos, from the Municipal Health Service of Deventer, The Netherlands, discusses with Anna Hartley, one of the authors of a article, which explores the premise that true quality improvement methodology is poorly understood and poorly used in the NHS. Dr. Hartley, from the...

In this podcast, Jackie Cassell, the Editor in Chief of STI, talks to Anatole Menon-Johansson, from the Department of Sexual Health, Guy's & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, about partner notification technologies. The STI blog post "Improving Partner Notification with a new online tool from SXT Health CIC [Community Interest Company]" is the starting point for a broad conversation...

In this podcast we explore the management of STI outbreaks. Ian Simms, of the HIV & STI Department, Public Health England, interviews two authors who have managed STI outbreaks. Kirsty Foster, of the Public Health England North East, investigated an outbreak of gonorrhoea in young heterosexual adults in that area of the UK. Read the full letter here: http://sti.bmj.com/content/92/5/364.full. G...

What do we know about sexual behaviour when travelling? Are backpackers and gap year travellers a special group? These are some of the questions Christopher Lewis, from the University of Birmingham, and Dr Clare Tanton, from the UCL's Centre for Sexual Health and HIV research, answer in this podcast. They are the authors of two recent studies published at sti.bmj.com. Read the full studies: 'Sexua...

In this podcast, Dr Khalil Ghanem discusses ocular syphilis with the authors of two studies. Dr Susan Tuddenham, from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, is the author of 'Increasing Case Reports of Ocular Syphilis in the United States: An Opportunity to Address Important Unanswered Questions', accessible here: http://goo.gl/cPcbLM and Dr Motoyuki Tsuboi, from the AIDS Clinic...

A lot has changed since the last study among shipboard populations has been conducted, about 20 years ago. What is the health of shipboard military personnel and why is it important to study their sexual health? How is life in a deployment? How can the findings of this study apply to civilian populations? In this podcast, Judith Harbertson of San Diego State University and US Military HIV Research...