At-home STI test pulled from Australian shelves after failing to detect infections
Summary
Australia’s only home test kit for chlamydia and gonorrhoea was taken off store shelves after it failed to detect some infections. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) suspended the company’s product for six months due to concerns about unreliable results and false negatives.Key Facts
- The home test kit was sold in pharmacies starting December 2024 for about $24.
- The product involved a vaginal swab tested with a solution to check for chlamydia and gonorrhoea.
- The TGA suspended the kit for six months, saying it gave false negative results for an unknown number of people.
- A health service reported problems with the test in May 2025, prompting the review.
- The company, Touch Biotechnology, stopped supplying the test and is doing more testing to verify its effectiveness.
- When first approved, the company claimed the test correctly identified over 99% of positive cases, but data was not publicly shared.
- Experts warn false negatives can delay treatment and lead to serious health problems like infertility.
- Health officials advise people with negative home test results to still seek professional medical testing to confirm.
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