New Delhi: If you have a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) like herpes, gonorrhea, or HIV, telling your partner may be one of the most difficult things to do.
But some people in California have come up with a unique way to break the bad news - delivering it through an anonymous STD e-mail card.
The email card reads something like this -
Sorry to have to give you this information. Who, What, When, Where, it doesn't matter. I got an STD, you might have it too, please get checked out.
or even:
You're too hot to be out of the action, I got diagnosed with an STD since we played, you might want to get checked too.
Director Public Health at Los Angeles (LA) county, Dr Jonathan Fielding, says e-cards make it easier for an infected person to break the bad news to different partners - anonymously.
"Unfortunately it remains a problem nationally and internationally but a lot of times, partners aren't getting notified because they're embarrassed and they're afraid," says Fielding.
The web site, inspotla.org, is the latest in Fielding's arsenal against STDs.
The site assists the infected person to choose the contacted STD and then sends out an e-mail to a partner.
There is no way of the identity of the sender can be leaked out and the health department at LA says the only personal information they keep is the pincode.
The downside of the site? Anyone can send out e-cards, including pranksters. The website guides the recipient of the e-card to get information about the specific disease and where to get help.
Embarrasment is now no longer an excuse for not telling a partner if they're at risk. Often many people don't know if they are infected, and with each new sex partner, the disease continues to spread.
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