Working in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health partners, APHL develops best practices, guidelines and training for STD diagnostic testing in public health laboratories. Because treatment is predicated upon STD diagnostics, it is critical that public health laboratories maintain leading edge capability in this area.
The organisms most commonly tested for in public health laboratories include: Chlamydia trachomatis the causative agent of Chlamydia; Neisseria gonorrhea the causative agent of gonorrhea, and Treponema pallidum the causative agent of Syphilis. Other organisms frequently tested for in public health laboratories include but are not limited to: Trichomonas vaginalis the causative agent of Trichomoniasis, and Herpes simplex viruses types 1 or 2 the causative agent of genital herpes.