E-Cards to Warn of Possible STI Infection?

Really? This is just a little creepy. A non-for-profit will help you tell your one-night-stand that you may have exposed him or her with an STI via an e-card:

Steve, a health care worker in his 30s, had been told more than once that he had been exposed to a sexually transmitted infection. So when it happened again, he was not upset -- even though this time he learned about it through an anonymous online postcard, e-mailed by a man with whom he had had sex.

"What was important was that I was being notified that there was a possibility that I may have been exposed to syphilis," said Steve, who asked that his last name be withheld to protect his privacy.

The Internet has made it much easier to connect for sexual hookups. In response, public health officials have been exploring ways to harness the online world for conducting safe-sex education and preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases by alerting people exposed to them.

The e-card, which allows the sender to select the disease involved and includes links to public health sites and services, is part of that strategy.

"Notifying the person exposed to a sexually transmitted infection is the critical piece in preventing further spread," said Dr. Susan Blank, New York City's assistant health commissioner for sexually transmitted disease. "And as the reach of the Internet expands for use in finding instant sex partners, we're using that technology as part of the solution."

Along with eight other cities and three states, New York City has been working with inSPOT, the online partner notification system through which Steve, in San Francisco, received his syphilis e-card. (It is currently aimed at gay men but is expanding its audience to include heterosexuals, and plans to start a national site this year.)

This is just disturbing. What if you actually got one of these?

It is like a hook-up madlib:

Dear ____(person I hooked up with whose name I can't remember...maybe I will just write "Resident")______,

I am sorry to say that you may have contracted ____(STI...can you imagine if this said "AIDS"?)_____ from me in our evening of drunken debauchery. This is a serious illness, and I recommend you immediately seek treatment from a licensed care provider (numbers to follow). While I wish you the best with your ___("AIDS")____, I have no desire to see you again in the future.

Have a nice life.

Yours,
____(fake name)_______

Or more simply:

You have contracted ____"teh crabs"____. That itching you are feeling means it is time to go to the doctor.