Health authorities in Los Angeles County have created an Internet site where visitors can anonymously notify sexual partners that they may have been infected with a sexually transmitted disease, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
The website is: www.inSPOTLA.org.
“This website will be a powerful tool in reducing the spread of STDs, including HIV, in Los Angeles County,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health and health officer for the L.A. County Department of Health Services.
“By giving people an easy way to notify their sex partners, www.inSPOTLA.org will enable more people to get tested and treated early for HIV and other STDs, preventing complications and helping stop the chain of infection."
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), said, “If all people diagnosed with HIV or other STDs notified partners, we would see an enormous decline in disease incidence. We see this another component in the continuum of innovative prevention, testing and outreach programs that L.A. County."
The magnitude of new STD and HIV infections in L.A. County highlights the need for a new, innovative, non-traditional partner notification system like www.inSPOTLA.org.
According to L.A. County Department of Health Services, in 2003, L.A. County experienced 36,900 new cases of chlamydia and 8,078 new gonorrhea cases. There are an estimated 50,000-60,000 individuals in L.A. County living with HIV or AIDS, of whom an estimated one-quarter DO NOT know they are HIV-positive.
AHF, the nation’s largest AIDS organization, and The L.A. County Department of Health Services, have partnered to bring the public this website.
