ArticlePloS one2013
The impact of syphilis screening among female sex workers in China: a modelling study.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Expanding access to HPV screening through community health insurance schemes: lessons from a screening exercise for teachers in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- High prevalence of syphilis among recyclable waste collectors in Central Brazil.Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical · 2024Article
- "I felt very small and embarrassed by the health care provider when I requested to be tested for syphilis": barriers and facilitators of regular syphilis and HIV testing among female sex workers in Uganda.BMC public health · 2021Article
- Strategic options for syphilis control in Papua New Guinea- impact and cost-effectiveness projections using theInfectious Disease Modelling · 2021Article
- HIV and syphilis testing behaviors among heterosexual male and female sex workers in Uganda.AIDS research and therapy · 2020Article
- The introduction of syphilis point of care tests in resource limited settings.Expert review of molecular diagnostics · 2017Review
- Sexual Mixing in Shanghai: Are Heterosexual Contact Patterns Compatible With an HIV/AIDS Epidemic?Demography · 2015Article
- High prevalence of HIV and syphilis and associated factors among low-fee female sex workers in mainland China: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn China, female sex workers (FSWs) are at high risk of syphilis infection, but are hard to reach for interventions. Point-of-care testing introduces opportunities for expanding syphilis control measures. Modelling is used to estimate the impact of using rapid tests to screen FSWs for syphilis. In other settings, modelling has predicted large rebounds in infectious syphilis following screening, which may undermine any impact achieved.
methodsA deterministic syphilis transmission model among FSWs and clients was fitted to data from Yunnan Province (FSW syphilis prevalence = 7.5%), and used to estimate the impact of rapid syphilis testing and treatment for FSWs. Impact projections were compared for different model structures that included risk heterogeneity amongst FSWs, incoming syphilis infections amongst new FSWs and clients and re-infection from FSWs' regular non-commercial partners. The rebound in syphilis prevalence after screening ceased was explored.
resultsAll model structures suggest yearly syphilis screening could substantially reduce (by 72-88%) syphilis prevalence amongst FSWs in this setting over five years. However, incoming syphilis infections amongst new FSWs and clients or re-infections from regular non-commercial partners of FSWs can considerably reduce (>30%) the proportion of infections averted. Including heterogeneity in risk amongst FSWs had little effect upon the proportion of infections averted. In this setting, the rebound in syphilis prevalence after screening ceased is predicted to be slight, but it could be large in high prevalence settings.
conclusionsRapid test screening could dramatically reduce syphilis prevalence amongst hard-to-reach groups, but strategies to reduce re-infection from regular non-commercial partners are needed to maximise impact.
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