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Sexual Health Sexual Health Society
Publishing on sexual health from the widest perspective
Sexual Health

Sexual Health

Volume 9 Number 5 2012

SH11183Chlamydia prevention indicators for Australia: review of the evidence from New South Wales

Hammad Ali, Basil Donovan, Bette Liu, Jane S. Hocking, Paul Agius, James Ward, Christopher Bourne, John M. Kaldor and Rebecca J Guy
pp. 399-406

To guide chlamydia programs, we developed 10 national prevention indicators and report on each indicator for New South Wales. We used systematic methods to review literature on 15- to 29-year-old heterosexuals. Data shows that although notifications have risen steeply from 2000 onwards, the modest increase in prevalence maybe a more realistic reflection of chlamydia transmission. Strategies are needed to increase testing and to modify sexual risk behaviour.

SH11181The impact of visa status and Medicare eligibility on people diagnosed with HIV in Western Australia: a qualitative report

Susan Herrmann, Joan Wardrop, Mina John, Silvana Gaudieri, Michaela Lucas, Simon Mallal and David Nolan
pp. 407-413

Universal access to effective and tolerable antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV infection has saved lives and contained the epidemic in Australia. However, otherwise fit people on long stay temporary visas are being diagnosed with HIV, often during health screening. Non-citizen status and Medicare ineligibility compound the distress of diagnosis with this highly stigmatised infection; hinders access to ART; and limits employment and migration opportunities for individuals and potentially, their families.

SH11121CRF01_AE dominates the HIV-1 epidemic in Indonesia

Tuti Parwati Merati, Claire E. Ryan, Tim Spelmen, Dewa N. Wirawan, I. Made Bakta, Brad Otto, Robert B. Oelrichs and Suzanne M. Crowe
pp. 414-421

This study, featuring samples predominantly from Bali and Jakarta, but also from around the Indonesian archipelago, aimed to determine if there is an epidemiological association between HIV-associated risk behaviour and subtype, or if there is evidence of significant mixing of HIV types within and among people with different risk factors.

SH12026The influence of target population on nonculture-based detection of markers of Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance

Namraj Goire, Kevin Freeman, Stephen B. Lambert, Graeme R. Nimmo, Athena E. Limnios, Monica M. Lahra, Michael D. Nissen, Theo P. Sloots and David M. Whiley
pp. 422-429

With treatment options for Neisseria gonorrhoeae diminishing, strengthening antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance is paramount. We investigated PCR based methods, in parallel with NG-MAST genotyping for direct detection of four N. gonorrhoeae chromosomal mechanisms associated with emerging resistance to extended spectrum cephalosporins. Overall the methods proved highly sensitive and specific. The results also show that for molecular N. gonorrhoeae AMR surveillance, the population being investigated is equally important as the genetic mechanisms being targeted.

SH11155Anal sex and associated HIV-related sexual risk factors among female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India

Rajesh Kumar Patra, Bidhubhusan Mahapatra, Dolly Kovvali, Laxminarayana Proddutoor and Niranjan Saggurti
pp. 430-437

This cross-sectional study examined anal sex practices and associated HIV-related sexual risk factors among female sex workers (FSWs) in Andhra Pradesh, India. The study observed that the practice of anal sex was positively associated with old age, being formerly married, having income only from sex work, heavy alcohol consumption and experience of violence. Further, FSWs practicing anal sex were more likely to report experiences of sexually transmittable infections than their counterparts.

SH11188Reducing the stigma of herpes simplex virus infection: lessons from an online video contest

Lee S. Shearer, Lisa Simmons, Adrian Mindel, Lawrence R. Stanberry and Susan L. Rosenthal
pp. 438-444

In a thematic content analysis of 103 publicly produced YouTube videos designed to destigmatise HSV infection, we identified five destigmatising strategies and differing abilities to successfully destigmatise HSV. We conclude that efforts to reduce HSV-associated stigma may be unsuccessful and may even perpetuate stigma. Special attention must be paid to balance and affective content, specifically humor, when attempting to convey a destigmatising message.

SH11170Court-based participatory research: collaborating with the justice system to enhance sexual health services for vulnerable women in the United States

Alexis Roth, J. Dennis Fortenberry, Barbara Van Der Pol, Joshua Rosenberger, Brian Dodge, Janet Arno, Janine Waters, David Certo and Michael Reece
pp. 445-452

Court-based sexual health programs could provide a critical bridge between women in the justice system and public health services. This formative study explored the features of such a program that would encourage STI testing among court-involved women. We provide a description of how community-based participatory research principles (CBPR) were adapted and operationalised for use in a court setting, describe the key lessons learned and discuss the implications for CBPR projects in a community court.

SH12033Barriers to HIV testing among Australian gay men

Garrett Prestage, Graham Brown and Phillip Keen
pp. 453-458

In an online survey, 519 non HIV-positive Australian gay men commonly indicated that they sometimes avoided HIV testing because they did not think they had done anything risky, and due to the need to return for a second clinic visit. Among men who had engaged in sexually risky behaviour, however, men often cited a lack of symptoms as the reason for not testing. Implementation of the recent changes to Australia's HIV testing policy is required to reduce the number of clinic visits required for HIV testing. Moreover, education about the benefits of early treatment and the experience of seroconversion illness would be particularly beneficial for men at high risk of infection.


This study investigates the factors related to sexual debut among adolescents, and examines the association between subject characteristics and condom nonuse among those who experienced sexual intercourse in South Korea. Factors associated with condom nonuse included early sexual debut and frequent smoking behaviour for males, and early sexual debut and frequent drinking for females.

SH12076Sexual health and the Rugby World Cup 2011: a cross-sectional study of sexual health clinics in New Zealand

Rebecca Psutka, Patricia Priest, Nigel Dickson, Jennie Connor, Sunita Azariah, Jane Kennedy, Jane Morgan and Jill McIlraith
pp. 466-471

This cross-sectional study of sexual health clinic attendance and STI diagnoses during the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand (2011) found that approximately 7% of those attending sexual health clinics reported RWC-related sex. Most attendees who had RWC-related sex had consumed 3 or more drinks, and about 22% used a condom. Seven percent of women reported non-consensual sex. RWC was associated with an increased risk of some bacterial STIs in men. These findings highlight issues amenable to prevention such as the reduction of alcohol and promotion of condoms.

SH12023Increasing gay men’s testing rates and enhancing partner notification can reduce the incidence of syphilis

Ian Down, David P. Wilson, Pol Dominic McCann, Richard Gray, Alexander Hoare, Jack Bradley, Basil Donovan and Garrett Prestage
pp. 472-480

Combining social research with mathematical modelling, this study sought to determine the acceptability and potential impact of interventions promoting testing for syphilis and increases in partner notification among gay men.

SH12065Prevalence and correlates of HIV discordance and concordance among Chinese–Burmese mixed couples in the Dehong prefecture of Yunnan province, China

Song Duan, Yingying Ding, Yuecheng Yang, Lin Lu, Jiangping Sun, Ning Wang, Lu Wang, Lifen Xiang, Manhong Jia, Zunyou Wu and Na He
pp. 481-487

This cross-sectional study conducted among 5742 Chinese-Burmese mixed couples in Dehong prefecture in south-west China revealed a high prevalence of HIV infection. Factors associated with HIV discordance were different depending on the gender of the HIV-infected spouse, whereas HIV concordance was associated only with a marital relationship of >3 years. Premarital HIV counseling and testing for this population and interventions to reduce secondary transmission among serodiscordant couples are urgently needed.

SH11156Case report and evaluation of the frequency of the prozone phenomenon in syphilis serology – an infrequent but important laboratory phenomenon

Jeffrey J. Post, Candice Khor, Virginia Furner, Don E. Smith, L. Ross Whybin and Peter W. Robertson
pp. 488-490

After identifying a case of secondary syphilis in a HIV infected patient where a falsely non-reactive rapid plasma reagin assay due to the prozone phenomenon was associated with a delayed diagnosis of reinfection we undertook a prospective evaluation for the prozone phenomenon in 3222 consecutive sera. The overall rate of the prozone phenomenon was 2/3222 samples (0.06%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.02–0.22%) and the rate per reactive sample was 2/397 (0.5%; 95% CI 0.14–1.81%).


In spite of advances in processing and interpreting liquid based cervical cytology, the reliability of diagnosing genital herpes from cervical cytology specimens is disputed. This letter highlights the issues when ‘herpes present’ is reported in routine smears taken from asymptomatic women.


HIV-positive adults are at risk of vaccine-preventable infections including Streptococcus pneumoniae, hepatitis A virus and hepatitis B virus. Uptake of immunisations in HIV patients is suboptimal despite evidence of efficacy. An audit was made of the vaccination records in 200 adult HIV-positive regular clinic attendees, with a CD4+ count >200 cells μL-1. In this population, very few patients had been vaccinated against S. pneumonia, and not all patients had received hepatitis vaccination. Strategies to improve vaccine uptake are required.

SH12018‘Eat coffee candy and die’: sex, death and Huli funerals

Philip Gibbs and Heather Worth
pp. 497-498

Sex and death have traditionally been linked in Huli culture in the Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea. However, Huli traditions are changing. Nowadays, unlike before, sex occurs on the occasion of funerals. This has not only changed the customary meaning of the funeral space, but is also encouraging the spread of HIV. Huli use the fatalistic expression ‘Eat coffee candy and die,’ to refer to funerals as a space of HIV risk.

Committee on Publication Ethics