STD Sentinel Surveillance System(2007)

STD Sentinel Surveillance System(2007)

In Taiwan, under the current sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance system, only syphilis and gonorrhea are statutory reportable infectious diseases. Whereas most patients with STDs prefer self-treatment with over-the-counter drugs rather than treatment from medical facilities, and physicians tend to treat symptoms without conducting laboratory tests, the original data on epidemiological situations of STDs are lacking. To improve the comprehensiveness of the epidemiological data on STDs, the Centers for Disease Control started the 'STD Sentinel Physician Surveillance Project' on November 20, 2003. The sentinel surveillance stations were installed to report symptoms and monitor causative pathogens, in order to obtain Taiwan's basic STD epidemiological data.