Executive Summary : | The burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) on the health and well-being of the population in the developing world is considerably high. The annual incidence of STIs estimated by World Health Organization (WHO) is 340 million cases worldwide including 174 million cases of Trichomonas vaginalis, 92 million cases of Chlamydia trachomatis and 62 million cases of Neisseria gonorrhea. Infection by C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhea and T. vaginalis results in genitourinary infections in reproductive age of men and women worldwide and continues to present major public health, social, and economic problem in developing and developed countries, and leads to extensive morbidity, mortality and social stigma. Despite high levels of infection and its sequelae, most STIs in women frequently remain unrecognized due to poor clinical presentations. Characterizations and/ or screening of the sexually transmitted diseases (STD) based on the signs and symptoms using syndromic diseases management (SDM) are neither confirmative nor accurate. Although effective diagnostic tests and treatments are available for these curable STIs, they are either unavailable or inaccessible in resource-limited settings in developing countries. As a consequence, symptom based screening, treatment and control for these and other common STIs remains the only option for disease management. The main presenting symptom in majority of these patients is vaginal discharge along with sequelae of other clinical symptoms such as cervicitis, itching, vaginitis etc. Therefore, accurate and early diagnosis of these diseases is of critical importance for timely interventions and to prevent further transmission of infection to sexual partners. |