As of September 1, people under 26 will be able to get free laboratory testing, without a prescription, for hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia infection.
- After HIV, screening for four new sexually transmitted infections will be 100% reimbursed by Health Insurance, without requiring a prescription, for young people under 26 from September 1.
- These include hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, common bacterial diseases that can be cured when diagnosed.
- The measure appears to come at just the right time, as bacterial STIs are currently experiencing a “worrying” resurgence in the European Union.
After the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), detected without cost or prescription since 2022, screening for four new sexually transmitted infections will be reimbursed 100% by Health Insurance, without requiring a prescription, for young people under 26 from September 1. These are hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, common bacterial diseases that can be cured when diagnosed.
Get tested in a laboratory without going to the doctor
The measure, arranged by an order published on July 8 in the Official Journalwas announced in September 2022 and included in the Social Security financing bill for 2023, referring to a future decree to specify the list of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) concerned.
When admitted to the medical analysis laboratory, the patient will have to fill out a questionnaire, the answers to which will allow the biologist to direct him/her towards “the most relevant screenings and the most appropriate self-sampling methods, in light of sexual practices and in accordance with current scientific recommendations”specifies the order. In the event of a positive result, the patient will be received or contacted by telephone by the biologist, then referred to an appropriate care structure.
The resurgence of STIs of bacterial origin in Europe
Facilitating screening is crucial to preventing the transmission of these diseases. In 2022, some 2.6 million people were able, thanks to a prescription from their doctor, to benefit at least once from a reimbursed screening for a Chlamydia trachomatis infection, 3 million from a screening for a gonorrhoea infection and 3.1 million from a screening for syphilis, according to the Public Health France bulletin published end of November 2023.
The measure seems to come at just the right time, as STIs of bacterial origin have been on the rise again in Western countries since the 2000s. In particular, they are experiencing a resurgence “worrying” in the European Union, according to the latest report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Between July 2022 and June 2023, cases of gonorrhoea jumped by 48% (70,881), those of syphilis by 34% (35,391) and those of chlamydia by 16% (216,508).
