Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to increase in France. To break the chain of transmission of the bacteria and viruses in question, the Haute Autorité de Santé proposes to set up a notification system for the exposed partner.
Gonococcal disease (or gonorrhea), syphilis, chlamydiaHIV… Many infections caused by bacteria or viruses can be transmit during sexual intercourse and they have been on the rise in France since the beginning of the 2000s, as recalled Public Health France. There fight against these STIs (sexually transmitted infections) is “a public health challenge” explain the High Authority of Health on March 9, 2023 before proposing the establishment of a system of notification to the partners). Today, when a person is diagnosed with an STI, his (or her) partner does not know it if she doesn’t tell him. He can in turn transmit the infection if he has sex with others. And so on.
How will the partner be notified?
To prevent transmission of the infection to other sexual partners, HAS offers the professional who announces the diagnosis of STI, to encourage the patient to inform his sexual partner(s) to encourage them to be screened and in certain cases to benefit from appropriate treatment, initiated at an early stage. The earlier the treatment is started, the faster the infection is cured and the less it will spread. For HAS:
► the question of the partner(s) must be systematically raised by the healthcare professional when diagnosing an STI
► the notification must be made without delay if the risk of transmission or severe consequences for the partner(s) is high (for example in the event of HIV)
► the notification must be made without delay when the partner is a pregnant or breastfeeding woman in order to avoid any risk of transmission for the fetus or newborn.
► if the patient feels the need, the healthcare professional or another adviser can offer to see him with his partner as part of a three-way medical consultation.
A law to lift medical secrecy?
The High Authority for Health recommends change the current legislation concerning professional secrecy which is essential for health professionals in order to:
► of allow STI notification to be carried out by a third party (health professional, associations, mediators, etc.) if the patient requests it, and with his free and informed consent.
► to authorize the possibility of accelerated processing of partners (TAP) which is not possible today. The TAP consists of give the index patient a prescription for the benefit of a partner, without consultation prior to the latter.
These recommendations are forwarded to public decision-makers. It is up to the government, and specifically the Ministry of Health, to take note of them in order to decide on their implementation.
Source: Notification of STIs to partners: recommendations for interrupting the chain of transmission. Press release from the Haute Autorité de Santé, posted online on March 9, 2023.