Dear Readers,
Warm Greetings. Happy to meet you once again in the first issue of 2024 with variety of articles on sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV, and nonvenereal genital dermatoses and their management. With baffling increase of syphilis and gonococcal infection in our teaching hospitals and clinics, I request our STI physicians to concentrate on antenatal care screening, partner tracing, and contact management to reduce the burden of spreading infection. We have to promote correct, continuous, and consistent use of condoms to our clients. With ever present HSV and HPV infections, we have to emphasize more on the use of condoms even when clinical lesions are not there. Outbreaks of nonclassical STIs spread by sexual contact such as Shigella sonnei, hepatitis A, Neisseria meningitidis, Zika, and Ebola have been on the rise. There were also reports on re-emergence of neglected STIs such as lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale among key populations, and increasing Mycoplasma genitalium infections as per the WHO. Monkeypox is also being increasingly reported among MSM population. Follow-up of STI patients should be emphasized constantly to ensure their sexual and mental well-being. The antimicrobial resistance noticed among Neisseria gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium infections are increasing day by day. The resistant organisms may require novel antibiotics with unique mode of action. If left uncured, they may require combination drugs or complicated treatment options. Genital tract infections if left untreated or partially treated can cause secondary infertility and sterility in both sexes. Key shifts are required to end STIs as a public health concern by 2030 as per the World Health Organization. Looking forward to meet you all at our 48th annual association conference ASTICON 2024 at New Delhi. Long Live IASSTDs and AIDS.
With high regards