Thai Ministry of Health opens one-stop service center for STI treatment in Bangkok

The Ministry of Public Health has opened a new center in Bangkok to provide one-stop services for the treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul attended the opening ceremony of Bang Rak Medical Center building at Bang Rak Hospital on Thursday. The center will provide one-stop services for STI treatment and pave the way for a full-service wellness center in the future.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, 2020 public health figures show the number of patients with sexually transmitted diseases was 33.6 per 100,000 people. Syphilis, gonorrhea, nongonococcal urethritis, chancroid and lymphogranuloma venereum were the most common diseases. The ministry has set a target of reducing new syphilis cases to one per 100,000 people and gonorrhea infections to three per 100,000 people.

Dr. Opas Karnkawanpong, director general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), said the facility will begin offering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) next month to quell new cases of HIV. The new center will provide STI Test & Go services as well as human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling testing. Services such as hepatitis C viral load testing, HPV vaccination service and health check-up services are expected to be available by 2023. (NNT)