ACTION REFERENCE / LOCAL GUIDANCE MATTERS
A notification window identifies people who may benefit from care; it does not date when an infection was acquired or prove who passed it on. It applies to people who had direct contact with the person diagnosed: someone who only shares a partner is not a contact, and their own contacts and symptoms guide them. Testing is a decision a clinic can help with, and guidance differs between countries and regions. Keep messages confidential, factual and calm. The periods below differ by infection.
| Infection | Who to contact / time window |
|---|---|
Mgen | Ongoing partners, and anyone with symptoms; past contacts as the clinic advises. No universal retrospective period, and Danish national and Capital Region guidance differ for contacts without symptoms. [01][02][03] |
Ureaplasma / M. hominis | No routine notification or partner-treatment program for uncomplicated colonization. [08][09] |
Chlamydia | US: previous 60 days before symptoms/diagnosis, plus most recent partner even if older. Australia: six months. [13][14] |
Gonorrhea | US: previous 60 days, plus most recent partner even if older. Australian guidance: two months. [16][17] |
Syphilis | Primary: three months plus symptoms; secondary: six months plus symptoms; early latent: one year. Stage determined clinically. [21] |
Trichomoniasis | Current sexual partners; treatment is generally concurrent. Wider notification is individualized. [24] |
HIV | Confidential partner services using infection/testing timeline and relevant sexual or blood exposure. [30][32] |
HSV / HPV | No fixed retrospective period that reliably dates infection. Current/future counseling and clinically indicated assessment. [34][38] |
Hepatitis B / C | Relevant sexual and blood contacts; HBV also household contacts. Define timing with clinical/public-health assessment. [42][46] |
Hepatitis A | Public-health assessment of sexual/household contacts around infectious period, often roughly two weeks before illness through a week after onset. [49] |
Mpox | Recent sexual/close contacts during the likely infectious period, including possible presymptomatic contact. Monitor 21 days. [52][56] |
Shigella | Sexual/household contacts with possible fecal-oral exposure; outbreak-specific guidance. [58][59] |
A current or most recent partner may still be offered care when a lookback has passed. Local rules, partner-service protocols, pregnancy and clinical stage can change the plan. Share someone else's identifying details only with their permission.
Once treatment has started, the waiting periods before sex are set out on When sex can resume after treatment.