News Article #5 Chris Woolley

"E-cards" may aid in STD notification

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49M6IW20081023?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0


A company in San Francisco created an e-card in 2004 that people who have sexually transmitted diseases can send their partners to alert them that they might be at risk of having these diseases. The idea is that people who find out that they have a STD can e mail the people that they have slept with to inform them that they might have been exposed to the STD. The company thinks that for people who might not talk to old partners or have no way of contacting them this might be a good way to tell them. The company provides four different “greeting cards” that can be sent using e mail. Notifying partners as soon as it is discovered that you have a disease has long been seen as the most effective way to prevent the spread of disease. These greeting cards are intended to be used as one tool in the fight against the spread of STDs. The company that developed these cards says that face to face communication is by far the best way to inform partners about these diseases but in cases when that is not possible these greeting cards can be helpful. I think that these cards are good idea that can probable help to inform people that they might be at risk for a STD but a face to face talk is always the way to go. The cards might not be taken seriously by the recipients. Some people might think that the cards are a joke and not get tested for an STD.