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"Some years ago I met an individual who had intercourse with someone they
met online, who didn't disclose that they had an STD" or sexually
transmitted disease, Gonzalo Paternoster of Florida-based SSP BioAnalytics
said ahead of the launch of the Safe Sex Passport on December 1, World AIDS
Day.
"The idea popped into my head that people know but don't tell the truth, and
we needed an independent way to verify someone's health status," he told
AFP.
The Safe Sex Passport will be available -- at a cost -- to anyone over the
age of 18 who goes online and orders the credit-card-size article.
"As soon as you order your card, you are referred to an affiliated
laboratory where you can get tested for five major STDs," Paternoster said.
Card holders are tested for HIV, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and
syphilis
"When you go to the test facility, you will have to show your official ID to
make sure you are the person who owns the safe sex passport.
"The test results are tied to the card. So let's say now you meet someone:
they can call a phone number and get the test results and test date for you,
plus identification information so that they know for sure that you are
really the person who was tested," he said.
"In the old days, you had to take someone's word for it when they said they
had been tested and were in the clear. Now you can ask for proof."
Subscribers will also be provided with virtual health certificates, which
can be posted on their online dating or MySpace profile page.
Nearly 15,000 people and several dating websites have already expressed an
interest in the safe sex passports and online health certificates,
Paternoster said.
The biggest age group showing an interest in acquiring the card are aged
between 27 and 47, he said.
"A lot of them are divorced or have broken up after a long-term
relationship, and now they're back in the dating world and they're
terrified."
Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gG1UBjLwJ5Z2l3YCcUh5UL9QCTOA
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