Microbicides are products designed to be applied vaginally or rectally to prevent acquisition of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections. Oral prevention drugs are a more recent development with great potential. The 2012 Microbicides Conference, held in Sydney, in April 2012, documented the transition from the discovery phase to considerations of implementation. This conference report summarises recent developments and ongoing challenges in the field.

Reproductive tract infections are among the most prevalent gynaecological health concerns. The symptoms of vulvovaginal infections can significantly interfere with patients’ sense of wellbeing. It has also been shown that the prevalence and incidence of reproductive tract infections vary between, as well as within, countries. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and risk factors of reproductive tract infections among a defined population of Iranian women.

Using Facebook to recruit participants, we examined the attitudes of young Victorian women to chlamydia screening. The study demonstrated willingness to participate in screening for chlamydia, and a strong acceptance of self-collected sampling and combined chlamydia and cervical cytology screening. Facebook may therefore be a feasible way for improving screening coverage at a population level.

A high prevalence of M. genitalium was found in this study population. However, despite the strong association between cervical contact bleeding and M. genitalium, the poor positive predictive values for the findings of microscopic and clinically diagnosed cervicitis, in conjunction with the lack of agreement in the international literature, support the conclusion that cervcitis has poor clinical utility as an indicator for the presence of M. genitalium infection.

Current diagnostic tests available for detection of Trichomonas vaginalis in resource-constrained settings have poor performance. The OSOM Trichomonas Rapid Test had excellent sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value for diagnosing trichomoniasis as compared to composite reference standard. Frequent partner reinfection as a result of wrong or missed diagnosis can be reduced in settings like India where syndromic management is used.

This paper uses longitudinal data with repeated concurrency measures to examine the prevalence of individual and perceived partner concurrency in 2005 and 2009 among young adult men and women from different population groups in Cape Town, South Africa. Large differences in concurrency were observed across population groups and gender. The prevalence of individual concurrency increased among Black men, remained constant among Black women, decreased among Coloured (mixed-race) men and remained low among Coloured women.

We introduced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) on the Cobas 4800 CT/NG assay for all samples received with a Chlamdyia trachomatis request in March 2012. From 1 March 2012 to 30 June 2012, all PCR-positive/culture-negative specimens had additional testing at another assay. A total of 40053 tests were performed. The estimated specificity and positive predictive value were 99.9% and 97.1%, respectively; thus routine additional testing is not required.

Although heterosexual transmission of HIV remains low in Australia, there has been a recent increase in new HIV diagnoses attributable to heterosexual sex. This research assesses differences in the experiences of stigma between heterosexual and homosexual PLHIV. Findings illustrate that heterosexual PLHIV have more negative experiences of general HIV stigma and treatment-related stigma than gay PLHIV and are less likely to access treatment. The data suggest that addressing HIV -related stigma may be important in increasing HIV treatment uptake amongst heterosexual PLHIV.

Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a significant risk for those infected with HIV. We examined the use of an interferon-gamma release assay for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis in 240 HIV-infected clients in Far North Queensland. Low CD4 count was found to be significantly associated with an indeterminate test result (P = 0.004). No significant association between test result and other client characteristics was identified (P-values = 0.2–0.9).

A systematic review to determine the types of pharmacy-based chlamydia screening interventions, their screening uptake rates, and issues around acceptability and barriers to testing was conducted. Nine different pharmacy-based chlamydia screening interventions were identified. Community pharmacies were considered to be highly accessible, convenient and alternative venue to get a chlamydia test. Pharmacists were seen as professional and competent when offering a chlamydia test.

This study examines the degree and correlates of sexual age mixing among female sex workers in Karnataka, India. About half of the sexual relationships were disassortative in nature. Degree of assortativeness assessed using Newman’s assortativity coefficient suggested a minimally assortative age mixing. This indicates that STIs can transfer from members of one age group to another. Efforts are required to address the power dynamics in disassortative relationships.

Let Them Know (www.letthemknow.org.au) is an Australian internet based service designed to support individuals diagnosed with an STI to notify sexual partners using anonymous or personal text messages. A review of user activity and acceptability of the website was performed.

AIDS-related stigma and discrimination are often considered detrimental to HIV preventive activities, yet not many studies have examined what influences these stigmatizing and discriminatory behaviors and attitudes in subSaharan Africa, and Ghana in particular. Using data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, this study examined the determinants of AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in Ghana. Results indicate that psychosocial and socio-economic variables are significant predictors of AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

The results of this study show that a simplified polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy, whereby diluted urine is added directly to a real-time PCR, may be a feasible approach for STI testing in remote settings. The approach is simple in terms of specimen processing and may be particularly suitable for high-throughput screening.

The study focused on hepatitis C (HCV) knowledge, HCV testing, sexual practices, and attitudes towards people with HCV, among 590 Australian gay and bisexual men. Findings suggest the attitudes of this sample towards drug use are negative, mirroring those of the broader society. These attitudes coupled with a lack of knowledge of the risk of sexual transmission of HCV among gay men, especially those HIV-positive, may prevent routine HCV testing among some at risk of acquiring HCV.

During the 10-year period, April 2001 to March 2011, infectious syphilis notifications in inner Sydney increased 12-fold from 25 to 303 in the first and last year respectively and almost all were in men. Enhanced surveillance found the epidemic was in MSM and about half of these cases were HIV-positive. Reinfections increased over time and were significantly more likely to be in HIV-positive men.

The help-seeking attitudes for sexual health of Indian men living in Australia was explored. Of all survey respondents (n = 225), many preferred to seek help from medical doctors. Young (18–25 years) Indian men were three times more likely to prefer a specialist medical doctor than older men. Ethnicity and gender of the medical doctor was ‘not important’ for the majority of men. Most men preferred to seek help from their regular general practitioner.

Analysis of a survey of sexual behaviour of Australians yields estimates of the rate of partner acquisition for the Australian population, broken down by gender and age band. The partner acquisition rate is about 0.5 per year for 16- to 19-year-olds, peaks around 0.7 for 20- to 24-year-olds, and declines with age to about 0.2.

We systematically reviewed and meta-analysed published studies on HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China 2003–2009. The pooled HIV prevalence among MSM in China increased from 0.6% (95%CI: 0.0%–2.1%) in 2003 to 7.4% (95%CI: 5.7%–9.2%) in 2009, with a yearly increase of 1.1% (95% CI 0.5–1.5%, P < 0.001). HIV is highly prevalent and increasing among Chinese MSM. Effective strategies are required to prevent the epidemic from continuing to spread.

The association between anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and HIV notifications in Victorian men was investigated. There was a significant positive correlation between the age-standardised rate of anal SCC and the rate of HIV notifications, but no correlation between the age-standardised rate of colon or brain cancers and HIV rates. About one in five cases of anal SCCs in men are explained by the rate of HIV notifications.

Seven hundred and eighty-one women in urban Sydney were tested for Trichmonas vaginalis by PCR. Only 0.38% of tests were positive. Routine screening by PCR for trichomoniasis in our population is not warranted.

This article reports the correlates of young women’s sexual efficacy. Results showed that efficacy is enhanced when women report more open communication and warmth and less rejection and coercion in their couple relationships. Young women are also higher in efficacy when they report more personal autonomy. The findings support sexual health programs’ focus on personal decision-making but also identify partners’ behaviours and dyadic communication strategies as important.

In a study of 2289 men who have sex with men (MSM), prevalence of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis and M. genitalium was 6%, 10% and 5.1%, respectively. Over 70% of these sexually transmissible infections (STIs) were identified by testing specimens taken from the anorectum or the oropharynx. The data shows that testing anatomic sites other than urogenitals will identifiy a higher percentage of MSM that are infected with STIs.

There are few population-based data on the disease burden of cervical cancer from South Pacific islands. Through intensive data collection from hospital pathology registry books and Ministry of Health registries, this study identified high incidence and mortality, and very low Papanicolaou smear coverage in 20- to 69-year-old women in Fiji from 2004 to 2007. Greater investment in alternative screening strategies and preventive measures should be integrated into a comprehensive, strategic cervical cancer control program in Fiji.

Newly acquired HIV notifications in Victoria, Australia (2001-2010), are examined alongside recent trends in HIV testing, incidence and risk behaviours among gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM) attending high caseload clinics in Melbourne. A significant increasing trend in newly acquired HIV was detected; MSM accounted for 85% of newly acquired HIV. HIV testing increased and incidence declined at high caseload clinics, suggesting increased rates of newly acquired HIV may be driven by increased testing among MSM.