|
Aimed at those who find love over the internet, the passport is a way of
letting the users of dating and social networking sites find out whether the
person they have their eye on has a clean sexual bill of health.
The passport's creator, Gonzalo Paternoster, said he was inspired to develop
the product after meeting a man who contracted HIV after having intercourse
with someone he met on the internet.
"I think the sexual relationship that two people can share is very powerful,
and now it's become such a dangerous thing," says Paternoster.
"Unfortunately there are a lot of people with sexually transmitted diseases
who don't even know it. In some cases they do know and they withhold that
information. It's only fair to both parties that there is full disclosure of
each person's health status."
The credit-card sized passport was developed by the company Paternoster
founded, SSP BioAnalytics Inc.
It enables the card holder to share their current STI test results with a
potential partner before any intimacy takes place.
When a person applies for a passport - at a cost of around US$300 ($388) for
six months - they receive their card, as well as unlimited online health
certificates and STI/HIV tests.
They are required to take their passport with them when attending their
screening to confirm their identity.
Five major STIs - HIV, genital herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis -
are tested for.
The test results are then tied to the card so potential partners can call a
phone number and quote the person's passport number to receive information
about their test results and to find out the date of their last STI test.
Identification information can also be given out, so the caller knows for
certain that the person they are meeting is really the person who was
tested.
In addition, subscribers are provided with virtual health certificates which
can be posted on their online dating or social networking page.
"Most people don't know that 1 in 5 adults in the US have an [STI]," says
Paternoster.
"With close to 90 million singles out there, a large percentage of them will
be affected by [STI]s at some point in their life."
About 15,000 people and several dating websites have already expressed an
interest in the safe sex passports and online health certificates,
Paternoster told AFP.
By Eveline Jenkin
| 
