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A 22-year-old member asked:
Can a pap smear detect the most common std's like chlamydia, genital herpes, hiv infection, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomoniasis and hepatitis b?
3 doctor answers • 9 doctors weighed in

Dr. Mark Diamondanswered
Pediatrics 48 years experience
No: It is a test to check for changes in cervical tissue. There are other tests for stds.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Mary David commented
Specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology
The pap smear only tests for cancer and precancerous changes but multiple other tests for STD's and other infections can be done using the same specimen
Aug 8, 2014

Dr. Anne Rodriguezanswered
Obstetrics and Gynecology 32 years experience
No: The pap smear is only designed to screen for the abnormal cells that are "dysplastic" or precancerous, not to test for any of those infections.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Vinod Shidhamanswered
Specializes in Pathology
No.: Pap test is primarily a screening test for early detection of cervical cancer. However, some additional diseases - infections such as candida, herpes, trichomonas may be detected and reported. Pap test is not primary a test for stds, although the same cervical sample may be used to perform many tests (including variety of molecular tests) to diagnose many stds.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Dec 1, 2020
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