Website allows STD carriers to make anonymous admissions

Individuals diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) may use a special website to inform their current or past partners of the risk to their health, according to WZZM Michigan.

Created by Internet Sexuality Information Services, the website provides a selection of e-cards with which past sexual partners can be told, anonymously or not, that they may need to be tested.

Kathy Hayes, a registered nurse with Mueskegon Public Health, told the news source that the website fills a public need, particularly since so many sexual partners meet or communicate exclusively online.

The website also provides a list of testing clinics available in the U.S. and Canada.

Hayes added that Michigan is among the five states with the highest rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea in the nation, and that STD testing and communication of the results are essential for maintaining public health.

Diseases like chlamydia and herpes may present no symptoms for months or years, meaning many people are unaware of their infections. Those concerned about the state of their sexual health may look into online testing services.

Among adults under 50, 16 percent have genital herpes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency estimates that more than 2.3 million Americans are infected with chlamydia.