Science

WASHINGTON (AP) — New options for testing and treating some of the most common sexually transmitted diseases are becoming available, a trend that experts hope will keep downward pressure on U.S. infection rates.

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first at-home test that can detect three common infections in women — gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis — as well as the first home-based kit for the virus that causes cervical cancer.

The agency ended the year by approving two different drugs for gonorrhea, the first new options for the disease in decades.