The role of microbiology in gonococcal control in the West: helping to understand the enemy
David J SpeersDepartment of Microbiology
PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA
Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre
Hospital Avenue
Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia
Tel: +61 8 9346 2197
Fax: 08 9346 3960
Email: david.speers@health.wa.gov.au
Microbiology Australia 38(4) 171-174 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA17061
Published: 31 October 2017
Abstract
Western Australia (WA), Australia's largest state by area, has one of the highest notification rates of gonorrhoea in the world. This is likely a reflection of the challenges of providing health services over a vast remote area combined with a unique set of sociocultural aspects. Despite this, microbiology can play a pivotal role in the public health management of gonorrhoea even if the primary health services are thousands of kilometres away from the laboratory. However, it requires new approaches to how diagnostic testing and laboratory surveillance are conducted and the repurposing of existing technologies to cater for novel demands. In this article I describe some of the microbiological approaches that have been undertaken in WA to help address the public health challenge of gonorrhoea. That is, facilitating the appropriate antimicrobial management of gonorrhoea in an era of increasing resistance to prevent treatment failure, timely provision of an accurate diagnosis to inform appropriate treatment, and providing molecular insights to better understand gonococcal transmission (Table 1).
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