These are the tests that often turn up in “full check-up” packages and that the guidelines advise against: without symptoms they change nothing, and a positive result that means nothing leads to pointless treatment. That is why they sit outside the table.
What they advise against
Which tests, and why.
For each one, what the guidelines say and in which case, if any, it still makes sense to look for that infection.
not indicated
Throat swab for chlamydia
rare (1–3%) and of little significance: in the throat only gonorrhoea is looked for
not indicated
Throat swab after oral sex on a vulva
gonorrhoea in the throat from a vulva is rare
only if symptoms appear
does not exist
HPV test for people with a penis
no approved test exists
not indicated
Blood test for genital herpes
without symptoms, almost one positive in two may be false
not indicated
Mycoplasma genitalium without symptoms
treating it without reason drives resistance
not indicated
Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma hominis
ordinary bacteria in many healthy people
on medical advice only
Doxycycline after sex (doxy-PEP) “just to be safe”
in Europe it is not recommended as routine and it does not replace testing
A test not recommended as routine is not a forbidden test: with symptoms, or with a partner who has a diagnosis, it is the doctor who decides what to look for.