Bay Area Reporter - October 2, 2008
Liz Highleyman

"We want to use technology and new media to promote sexual health and disease prevention," said ISIS Executive Director Deb Levine. "It's not only to do your banking or buy things."

The centerpiece of the program, unveiled at Gotham Body Piercing and Tattoo at Market and 17th streets September 24, is a new Web site, www.STDTest.org. Users who access the confidential site receive personalized advice about which tests they should get, based on answers to a questionnaire about sexual behavior and other risk factors. The program offers testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphilis, and HIV.

The online system generates a lab slip that users can take to Gotham or one of six Labcorp locations throughout the city (including the Financial District and Union Square), where they will give blood, urine, throat culture, or self-administered rectal swab samples, depending on the type of test.

The tests are free, but donations are requested to keep the program going. Other online HIV and STD testing sites charge as much as several hundred dollars for similar tests.

Gotham, which will offer testing from 7 to 9 a.m. on Monday mornings and 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday evenings, was added to make testing easier for those who find it difficult to visit lab sites during normal business hours. The early morning and late evening hours, when the shop is otherwise closed, also offer greater privacy. Gotham was selected for its convenient location and because owner Bob Martin was eager to get involved; tattoo and piercing recipients are not inherently at greater risk of STDs.

"I think it's a perfect fit," Martin said. "We appreciate our clients and want to ensure their health and safety."

In most cases, users will be able to retrieve their test results online in the privacy of their own homes within three to seven days using a unique identifier. By law, however, HIV test results must be delivered by phone or in person by a trained counselor.

"We need to be where people are at, and a lot of people are socializing and finding sexual partners online," said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of STD prevention and control. "The same way STDs are spread through networks and partnerships, we need networks and partnerships to prevent and treat them." Klausner has provoked controversy in the past by demanding that online cruising sites do more to monitor and control their users' behavior.

While the new Web site is anonymous, users are required to provide a name when samples are taken. This enables DPH to follow up with all people who test positive, offering them information on treatment options.

After several years of stable or declining rates, syphilis began to rise during the first half of 2008, with a large majority of cases occurring among men who have sex with men [see story, page 1]. STD rates are also disproportionately high among African American adolescents.

Klausner recommended that gay and bisexual men with multiple sexual partners should be tested for HIV and other STDs every three to six months. Sexually active young adults should also get tested, he added, and women age 25 or younger in particular should be tested for chlamydia each year. Woman-to-woman sex carries a low risk of HIV and STD transmission, but he noted that many women who identify as lesbian or bisexual sometimes have sex with men or use injection drugs, which puts them at greater risk.

Klausner emphasized that the new testing program is only for people without current STD symptoms. Those experiencing symptoms should visit City Clinic or see their own health care provider as soon as possible, in order to receive prompt treatment and prevent passing an infection on to others.

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Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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