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Article History

Received: 27 April 2023

Accepted: 25 October 2023

First Online: 30 January 2024

Declarations

:

: All the methods performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations by the University of Witwatersrand Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC NUM: M181071) into which this study is embedded. Participants enrolled in the STI surveillance study had informed consent before answering the questionnaire and provide blood samples using anonymous and barcoded samples for privacy and confidentiality. . The Assessor group during the protocol assessment on 22 April 2020 at the University of the Witwatersrand ethics committee waived the need for ethics approval and the need to obtain Informed consent for the analysis and publication of the retrospectively obtained and anonymized data for this study. To analyse the data, permission from the primary study Principal Investigator (DR Tendesayi Kufa-Chakezha) was obtained. Patient personal identifiers were de-identified to maintain confidentiality.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.