{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:18:05Z","timestamp":1760059085013,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747785600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sexual assault crimes consist of acts committed without consent and represent a major global issue with serious implications for victims. These acts have both short- and long-term consequences on the physical, mental, and sexual health of victims, with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) being one of the direct outcomes of such crimes. Sexually transmitted infections constitute a serious global public health problem and can lead to severe consequences. These infections may be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites and are transmitted through sexual contact. Some of the most common STIs among the general population and victims of sexual crimes include gonorrhoea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and syphilis. In most carriers, these infections are asymptomatic, making their detection particularly challenging. Considering the importance of further research in this field, the primary objectives of this study are to review the existing literature on the incidence of major STIs in victims of sexual crimes, to identify the various risk factors associated with these infections, and to explore their public health implications. Additionally, this study aims to assess different STI detection techniques, analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. Studies on this topic are crucial for better understanding the role of sexually transmitted infections in the context of sexual crimes. However, throughout this work, it was verified that point-of-care methods are a good option to allow the diagnosis to be faster and more accurate, when compared to other methods of detecting sexually transmitted infections.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics15101294","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]],"date-time":"2025-05-21T07:44:57Z","timestamp":1747813497000},"page":"1294","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Forensic Microbiology: Challenges in Detecting Sexually Transmitted Infections"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9384-8088","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana","family":"Eira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, I.P., Centre Branch, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Fadoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, I.P., North Branch, 4050-202 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAQV&REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7506-4426","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Amorim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, I.P., Centre Branch, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, I.P., North Branch, 4050-202 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAQV&REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Sciences, Lisbon University, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Lisbon University, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6542-4256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Cain\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, I.P., Centre Branch, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"LAQV&REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Porto University, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eimc.2018.11.004","article-title":"Sexually transmitted infections in the context of a sexual assault","volume":"37","year":"2019","journal-title":"Enfermedades Infecc. 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