Sask. resumes normal testing for non-COVID infectious diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to delays and reductions in tests for other types of infections, including sexually transmitted infections, but provincial labs are now returning to their normal offerings. 

As of Monday, the Saskatchewan Health Authority is resuming all its clinical microbiology services in the province. 

"Clinical microbiology is that branch of pathology and lab medicine which is responsible for the processing of specimens for anything related to a potential disease," said Dr. Joe Blondeau, a clinical microbiology lead for the SHA. "It means every type of test for that kind of concern — whether it be a blood infection or an STI or a wound infection — are all back to normal."

Dr. Blondeau said the province had to restrict its testing capacity for non-COVID infections when the pandemic began. 

"We weren't able to handle all the volume of test requests that were coming in in addition to getting our staff trained to be doing COVID testing," he said.

While testing was restricted, doctors could request approval for tests they believed were especially urgent. 

Taryn Wahl, the education co-ordinator at Planned Parenthood Regina, said her organization has not been able to do routine screenings or test asymptomatic people who were worried about having an STI since late May.

She is worried about the consequences this reduction in testing will have on STI transmission and public health in the near future. She said about 70 per cent of people with an STI don't notice symptoms.

"So we [were] only being able to possibly treat folks who do notice those symptoms," she said. "Something like chlamydia, a bacterial infection, can be cured with antibiotics and a week of abstaining from sexual activity. But if that isn't caught, the bacteria can do damage to someone's reproductive organs."

While people who were showing symptoms of an STI have been able to get tested throughout the pandemic, Wahl says Planned Parenthood has received many calls and messages from people who will be eager to get tested now that they can.

"I think we're going to be incredibly busy," she said. "Which is good, it means people are being responsible."

Wahl says she hopes conversations about the pandemic are increasing general knowledge about infectious disease and public health, which could help people make safe choices in the future. 

At the provincial level, Dr. Blondeau anticipates a slow increase in testing requests as medical providers react to the announcement. 

"It will take time for people to ramp back up in their practices or start booking patients," he said.

Dr. Blondeau says the province might be able to continue their normal testing without further interruptions, even if Saskatchewan experiences a serious second wave of COVID-19. This is partly because people trained to do testing for COVID can now also test for other infections.

"We're also seeing an increase in the number of staff being approved by the government in order to help us handle the volume of demands that we might expect to see coming into the laboratory over the next number of weeks to months," he said.