In
The News
USA TODAY
June 19, 2003
San Francisco turns to computers to curb rise in syphilis
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Aiming to stem an alarming rise in syphilis, San Francisco health officials are turning to
the place where they say many infected residents meet their sexual partners: the Internet.
The Department of Public health launched a Web site this week where people who think they may have contracted
syphilis can order confidential tests by printing out laboratory slips containing personal identification numbers
instead of their names.
Once the potential patients have their blood drawn at a participating lab, their results will be posted online
with the same nine-digit number.
"Nearly 40% of recent syphilis cases have met their sex partners online," said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of
the department's sexually transmitted diseases unit. "Now, we can offer these same Internet users a free,
convenient way to access STD testing via the Web."
Deb Levine, who works with an educational group called Internet Sexuality Information Services, cautioned that
while the new site affords users an important measure of privacy, it is not strictly anonymous.
Via personal information visitors must enter before obtaining their ID numbers, those who test positive for
syphilis will be contacted by the health department for mandatory counseling and follow-up, she said.
But that doesn't eliminate the Web site's value, said Levine, who is helping city officials spread word about the
program.
"It reduces any kind of embarrassment of having to discuss this with your doctor. It reduces the time it would
take to go to a public health clinic," she said. Lastly, it gives you that privacy of finding out results online
at home, where you don't have to worry about bumping into somebody you know."
The site is the latest weapon in Klausner's crusade to protect San Francisco from what he sees as the very real
side effects of "cybersex." Four years ago, after tracing a small syphilis outbreak to gay men who participated
in an America Outline chat room, he began a protracted, though ultimately successful effort to persuade AOL to
publish health warnings and safe sex information in its chat rooms.
Since then, Klausner has found other avenues for getting his message out. A San Francisco-based Internet
company, PlanetOut Partners, agreed to send trained volunteers into the chat rooms of its two gay-oriented Web
sites to talk about health issues and to post special alerts when spikes in new cases occurred. The health
department ran a syphilis prevention campaign called "Healthy Penis 2002" that included displaying cartoon
penises and syphilis sores on bus shelters and in gay clubs.
But the syphilis rate in San Francisco has continued to go up. Over 1,000 new cases have been diagnosed since
1999, when there were just 47 reported infections. Last year, there were 595 new cases, nearly double the number
from the year before, and two-thirds of them were found in HIV positive men, raising fears that the syphilis
epidemic presages a resurgence in HIV transmission.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease that begins as a sore and develops into a rash. It can be treated
with penicillin, but if left unaddressed can damage vital organs. It can also make those with the disease more
susceptible to HIV.
Although some studies have shown that people who use chat rooms are more likely to have sexually transmitted
diseases, Levine said no data exists showing men who meet online engage in riskier sex. At the same time, the
anonymity the Internet affords makes it easier for people to find partners.
"People are willing to take risks online because there is no shame and embarrassment in it," Levine said. "But
it's also this incredible place for education because people are willing to ask their questions without worrying
about judgment."
The city is hoping to stem the increase by having most HIV-positive residents routinely tested for syphilis.
Klausner says the new site will be promoted at gay-oriented Web sites, through advertisements on buses, and with
outreach at sex clubs and adult bookstores.
"I think since this is so easy, confidential and free, word-of-mouth will also occur and the site should become
popular very quickly," he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news
 THE ADVOCATE
June 21, 2003
San Francisco health officials launch Web site to combat syphilis
Health officials in San Francisco this week launched a new Web site aimed at reducing the number of new
syphilis infections in the city, which have been dramatically rising since 1999. Last year, 595 new infections
were reported in San Francisco, with two-thirds of that total reported among HIV-positive gay and bisexual men.
The new Web site, accessed online at www.stdtest.org, provides information about syphilis and syphilis
protection, and allows those who wish to be tested for the sexually transmitted disease to print out
laboratory slips with nine-digit identification numbers that can be used to get tests at city testing centers.
Results will be posted online and can be accessed with the I.D. number. Those who test positive will be
contacted by the health department for mandatory counseling and follow-up using information entered before
Internet users receive the I.D. number. Deb Levine of the Internet Sexuality Information Services said that
because of the follow-up requirements the testing isn't strictly anonymous, but she still said the new program
makes syphilis testing much easier. "It reduces any kind of embarrassment of having to discuss [syphilis] with
your doctor," she said. "It reduces the time it would take to go to a public health clinic."
http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?id=9043&sd=06/21/03-06/23/03
LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Errin Haines, Times Staff Writer
June 21, 2003
San Francisco to Use Web Site in Effort to Promote Syphilis Testing, Treatment
San Francisco health officials are hoping the Internet - a catalyst in the spread of syphilis - will encourage
at-risk citizens to get tested and treated for the disease.
This week, the San Francisco Department of Public Health - in partnership with Internet Sexuality Information
Services and Quest Diagnostics - launched a Web site (www.stdtest.org) where visitors can make appointments for a
free blood test at a nearby lab. Using an identification number, participants receive results online and those
who test positive are instructed on ways to get treatment.
"We wanted to create something specific for the population that was meeting partners on the Internet, that
appealed to them and fit in with their Internet savvy," said Jeffrey Klausner, a health department official in
charge of prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.
The Web site also has links to information on symptoms and prevention of syphilis and other STDs.
According to Klausner, San Francisco County's syphilis-infected population has increased more than 1,000% in just
four years.
In 1998, the county had 41 cases of syphilis - the lowest number since 1955, when regular statistics on the
disease were first recorded. Last year, there were 494 cases, and trends suggest the number could be as high as
750 by the end of 2003, Klausner said.
Surveys by the health department indicate that as many as 40% of the people recently diagnosed with syphilis
cases in San Francisco met their sex partners online, Klausner said.
Though the test is confidential, it is not anonymous. Because syphilis is a reportable disease in California, the
health department will use the site to track people who test positive and follow up with phone calls, informing
them about treatment options and urging them to tell their sexual partners, officials said.
"This is an easy and convenient way for people to get tested that reduces the shame and embarrassment," said Deb
Levine, director of the nonprofit Internet Sexuality Information Services. "If you're trying to bring people in,
you don't want them going to a public clinic, where they can potentially bump into someone they know, or going
to their private physician and saying, 'I need to get checked for an STD.' "
The diagnosis of syphilis is considered less devastating then HIV and can be handled differently at first,
according to the health department. In contrast, people who test positive for HIV are told about it during
face-to-face 45-minute counseling sessions.
The Web site is part of a multi-pronged approach by San Francisco to get the word out about the disease.
Health officials are also handing out condoms and educational materials and doing street and online outreach.
Officials timed the debut of the Web site for the eve of Gay Pride Weekend, scheduled for the end of June. "In
San Francisco, Pride is the time when many people come from all over the country to celebrate their sexuality.
It's certainly possible that people may be engaging in risky sexual activity," Klausner said.
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