Browsing by Author "Ahlqvist, Kati"

Common sexually transmitted pathogens like human papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis have profound effects on sexual health of women ranging from acute genital tract infections to cancer and infertility. These infections are often asymptomatic, increasing the risk of being left untreated and thus increasing the probability of complications. Most cervical cancer cases are caused by persistent HPV infection and would be preventable by timely HPV detection. Cervical cancer screening using HPV nucleic acid detection has proven efficient and is used in many European countries, including Finland. Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections can lead to upper genital tract infection and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy and infertility. C. trachomatis infections are also associated to increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Due to lack of national screening program and often asymptomatic nature of these infections, many of them are left untreated. In order to streamline cervical cancer screening and to include C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae analysis in the same package with HPV, a liquid-based cytology sample medium, BD SurePath™ was validated for use with cobas® 4800 HPV and CT/NG nucleic acid detection tests. Work presented here shows that HPV and CT/NG tests and cytological analysis can all be done from a single sample in an efficient, reliable and cost-beneficial way. Based on the results, Vita Laboratoriot will be able to offer the package analysis to their customers.