Burnet Institute researchers and collaborators have been awarded a Medical Research Future Fund grant to trial syphilis self-testing.
Led by Burnet Deputy Head of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention, Dr Michael Traeger, the pilot trial will assess syphilis self-testing as an additional testing option for gay and bisexual men, and trans and gender diverse people in Australia.
Dr Traeger said rising syphilis notifications – and lagging testing rates – showed innovative approaches were needed to increase testing.
Syphilis notifications in Australia have increased substantially over the past decade, with almost 6,000 cases notified in 2024.
“We hope this study will demonstrate that syphilis self-testing can increase testing rates, support earlier diagnosis, and ultimately improve sexual health outcomes for people at risk of syphilis,” Dr Traeger said.
The trial will use Burnet’s Active Syphilis Test, developed by the Burnet Diagnostics Initiative in collaboration with Australian medical technology company Atomo Diagnostics.
The test combines a syphilis antibody assay developed by Burnet with Atomo’s integrated AtomoRapid™ Pascal testing platform, which incorporates the finger-prick blood collection and testing components into a single device.
The rapid self-test is designed to provide a result in 15 minutes and identify active syphilis infection, including in people who have previously had and been treated for syphilis. This ability to distinguish an active infection from a previously treated infection would be a first for the global market.
With support from the grant, Dr Traeger and his team will work closely with clinical and community partners to co-design the project.
The team is planning a ‘hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial’, which will test the intervention while also evaluating how to implement it in a ‘real-world’ setting.
“Our goal is to generate the evidence needed to ensure syphilis self-testing can be implemented into routine sexual health care as effectively as possible once the test is approved,” Dr Traeger said.
Dr Traeger is an epidemiologist with a background in HIV and sexually transmissible infections. Earlier this year he was recognised as part of the Premier’s Awards for Health and Medical Research.
The project team includes Burnet researchers and collaborators from Melbourne Sexual Health Centre.
Other Burnet researchers named on the grant include Dr Bridget Draper, Dr Sophia Schroeder, Dr Caitlin Douglass, Dr Brendan Harney, Dr Damian Pavlyshyn, Professor Mark Stoové, Professor Heidi Drummer, Dr Elsie Williams and Jason Asselin.
The Medical Research Future Fund is an Australian Governent scheme for health and medical research in Australia.
The grant provides A$694,000 over 2 years.
