Best Practice Chlamydia Management - MoCCA (Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia)
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Management of Chlamydia Cases in Australia (MoCCA)


Issue #2
 

Hello, and thank you for your participation in the MoCCA study!

In this issue of the MoCCA newsletter we focus on the importance of retesting  for chlamydia reinfection. 

There are now 11 clinics involved in MoCCA across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. It has been great to meet you either in person or remotely, and to hear about how you have been using the MoCCA resources.

Thank you to all who responded to our last poll. Our next two minute poll is now live!

Click here to answer a few short questions about MoCCA.

 

Why retest?

Chlamydia reinfections are common. Australian data show reinfection rates of 22% for women aged 16-25 years, typically within six months. 

Reinfection increases the risk of complications. The risk of pelvic inflammatory disease increases by 17% after reinfection. 

When to retest? 

Three months after the initial infection as recommended by the Australian STI Management Guidelines

How many people are retested?

Retesting rates are low. An Australian study found only 25% of 16-29-year-olds were retested within recommended timeframes. One-third re-attended general practice within this timeframe but were not retested. 

Further information about retesting is available on the MoCCA retesting webpage.

 

It can be difficult to ensure your patients have a retest for reinfection. We asked MoCCA partner organisations for some tips on how to support patients to retest. 

Thank you to Dr Clare Boerma (Family Planning NSW), Dr. Kathleen McNamee (Sexual Health Victoria) and Professor Deborah Bateson (University of Sydney) for these practical suggestions for organising and discussing the need for retesting. 

Click the image below to view the tips:

 

 

VCS Pathology is providing MoCCA clinics with postal kits for chlamydia retesting. Postal tests have been shown in Australia to increase retesting from 39% to 61% when compared with SMS reminders.

A/Prof David Hawkes from VCS Pathology has provided this information about the postal kits:

The postal test is a PCR test (Roche cobas 4800 CT/NG test), the most accurate available and is in routine use in Australia. It is a vaginal swab (for women) or urine sample passed onto the swab (for men). 

Click here for more information about postal retest kits, including how to order a kit for patients.

 

Participate in an interview and receive a $100 voucher!

We wish to interview GPs and other clinic staff about how you have found MoCCA so far. 

Interviews will be conducted via Zoom and last no longer than one hour.

Interested? Email us at mocca-info@unimelb.edu.au or reply to this email and a member of the MoCCA team will be in touch.

 

The MoCCA team wish to hear about the patient experience of having a chlamydia or PID diagnosed and managed.

Please help us by passing a survey flyer to all patients diagnosed with chlamydia or PID at your clinic. 

People who complete the survey will receive a $20 voucher!

Let us know if you need more flyers, or access them here.

 

⬅ Dr Jane Goller from the MoCCA team recently attended the SexRurality Conference in Creswick, Victoria and spoke about the MoCCA Study.

Dr Steph Munari from the MoCCA team presented some recent findings on chlamydia retesting at the Communicable Diseases and Immunisation Conference in Perth, WA. ➡

 

  • Read an MJA article about chlamydia prevention and management here.

 
Comments, questions, issues? Reply to this email to let us know.
mocca-info@unimelb.edu.au www.mocca.org.au

You are receiving this email because your clinic is participating in MoCCA. You can read more about the study here, talk to your practice manager/principal GP, or reply to this email should you have any questions.

MoCCA is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1150014) and is a collaboration between the University of Melbourne and our project investigators and partner organisations. Click here for a list of our collaborators.
University of Melbourne