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STI updates are blog posts from the BCCDC or our community partners about a variety of sexual health topics. These include program updates, clinical practice changes, new research, events, and more. We will not clutter your inbox with frequent emails, and your email address will not be used for any other purposes.
September 14, 2021 by Troy Grennan, Physician Lead, STI Program, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Mycoplasma genitalium is an STI that can cause genital symptoms similar to other STIs, including urethritis, cervicitis, and discharge. As it is not a reportable infection, and there is currently no evidence to support routine testing, we do not have good data on prevalence. The clinical teams at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)…
July 15, 2021 by Stephanie Gin, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
British Columbia (BC) is now the first province or territory in Canada to recommend one-time birth cohort screening for people born from 1945 to 1965. This update is included in recent revisions to the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Manual and Guidelines and Protocol Advisory Committee (GPAC) viral hepatitis…
January 25, 2021 by Sarah Watt, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Collaborators at the Health Initiative for Men, the Community-Based Research Centre, and Simon Fraser University have developed and launched MindMapBC. MindMapBC is an online database of accessible, free or low-cost, and/or LGBTQ2+-affirming mental health supports. Experiences of stigma, discrimination, and marginalization among LGBTQ2+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-, queer, Two-Spirit, and other gender- and sexually-diverse) people…
January 12, 2021 by Monica Durigon, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
What is an HIV self-test? Point of Care (POC) HIV tests, also known as “rapid” HIV tests, screen for HIV antibodies and have been used in clinics and health care settings for many years. On November 2, 2020, Health Canada approved the INSTI® HIV Self-Test for use and sale. It is the same test used…
September 23, 2020 by the Education Team, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Non-Certified Practice Revisions to the BCCDC’s Non-Certified Practice Decision Support Tools (DSTs) have been completed and are now posted in the BCCDC Communicable Disease Control Manual, Chapter 5: Sexually Transmitted Infections. A provincial working group comprised of frontline and nursing leads certified in STI practice convened to discuss and review BCCDC’s proposed changes over a…
August 11, 2020 by Dan Udy, Editor/Writer, Health Information Resources, CATIE, Canada’s source for HIV and hepatitis C information
Treatment as prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have expanded the definitions of “safer sex” for people living with HIV. It’s important to update resources and messages to reflect current evidence, and to support everyone in having happy, healthy sex lives. Your Sexual Health is a new resource from CATIE which gives up-to-date information in plain…
September 19, 2019 by Geoffrey Ford, HIV/STI Senior Practice Lead, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
Please join the BCCDC education team for a Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) webinar to review this new Decision Support Tool (DST) for Registered Nurse assessment and management of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). This DST includes information on: PrEP eligibility considerations Required and recommended baseline testing PrEP initiation, ongoing testing, monitoring and management Consultation and/or referral…
August 23, 2019 by BCCDC Public Health Laboratory
Given recent changes in testing methods and lab procedures, the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory (PHL) has made processing of STIBBI serological specimens more efficient. When drawing blood for any or all of the tests below, only 1 full* yellow/gold top tube (SST: serum separator tube) is required. *Note: If the tube is less than 2/3…
July 9, 2018 by Geoffrey Ford, HIV/STI Senior Practice Lead, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
A number of changes have been made to the BCCDC Communicable Disease Control Manual, Chapter 5: Sexually Transmitted Infections: Section 1: STIs. The BCCDC Non-Certified Practice Decision Support Tools have been updated with the following: Dispensing Prophylactic Medications Post Sexual Assault (June 2018) Core Nursing Practice Competencies for Dispensing Prophylactic Medications Post Sxual Assault (June…
December 12, 2017 by Malcolm Hedgcock, MD, Spectrum Health, Vancouver, BC
Background Behavioral interventions have been effective at lowering HIV transmission rates in British Columbia. Along with treatment as prevention, they remain the cornerstone of HIV prevention. However, infection rates have plateaued for the last 5 years and new interventions are needed to reach those individuals not captured by current prevention strategies. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is…