In late March, with little fanfare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidelines for the provision of PrEP: “Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the United States—2017 Update.” While the title of the updated clinical practice guidelines state that they are the 2017 update, the guidelines were published online in March.

Changes included in these guidelines include:

• Additions to the three-month follow-up section on page 47, which now includes recommendations to “Conduct STI testing for sexually active persons with signs or symptoms of infection and screening for asymptomatic MSM at high risk for recurrent bacterial STIs (e.g., those with syphilis, gonorrhea, or chlamydia at prior visits or multiple sex partners).”
• An update to the language for services received at least every six months: “Conduct STI screening for sexually active adolescents and adults (i.e., syphilis and gonorrhea for both men and women, chlamydia for MSM) even if asymptomatic.”
• An updated “Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections” section on page 44 also states that “Pharyngeal, rectal, and urine specimens should be collected (“3-site testing”) to maximize the identification of infection, which may occur at any of these sites of exposure during sex.”

While all of these changes better address STD testing and screening for those on PrEP, the updated recommendations do not make STD screening standard at the three and six month mark of PrEP care for any asymptomatic individual at risk for bacterial STDs, as NCSD had requested in it comments last year.