Partner notification for sexually transmitted infections in the modern world: a practitioner perspective on challenges and opportunities

INTRODUCTION Our aim is to provide a practitioner perspective on approaches to partner notification (PN)dsome old, some newdwhich may improve the control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, in a variety of settings. PN services support patients with STI/HIV in the difficult task of informing often unsuspecting partnersdpast or presentdof their possible exposure to an STI and hence the need to seek medical care. It is an essential component of STI management and control, protecting patients from reinfection, partners from long-term tissue damage from untreated infection and the community from onward transmission. Beneficial dimensions include ethics (duty to warn), disease control (case finding) and epidemiology (identifying factors associated with STI transmission).