ple know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

The world wide epidemic of HIV/AIDS, genital herpes, and other incurable viral STDs is largely a result of there being an insufficient incentive for individuals to be tested. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) have found increased testing to be the most effective means of prevention. However, currently, an individual’s fear of receiving positive test results is not adequately counterbalanced by an incentive to receive negative results. The receipt of positive test results adversely impact everything from one’s dating and sex life to one’s credit rating and insurability. This fear makes not knowing and not being tested the preference of the majority. Left unchecked, and absent mandates for global testing, people will continue to avoid testing and continue to insidiously both, knowingly and unknowingly infect their partners. Without a cure or improved treatments for viral STDs, an individual’s fear of receiving positive results will be difficult to overcome. Therefore, the focus of the new prevention strategy should be to develop incentives for individuals to be tested that also appeal to selfish motivations, rather than global calls for social responsibility, which have proven insufficient. The most economical and powerful solution is to leverage the tools of social networking, which CDC have found to be effective. This requires an efficient means by which prospective sexual partners can mutually communicate their negative HIV/STD test results, prior to sexual activity.

Problem - No Incentive for Testing

The principal problem of HIV and other viral STDs is that both the carriers and their partners are not aware of their infection. CDC estimates that in the United States 25% of those infected with HIV are unaware that they are infected. They have also found that the best means of preventing new transmissions is to ensure that those infected are aware of their condition, because when people know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

T

esults adversely impact everything from one’s dating and sex life to one’s credit rating and insurability. This fear makes not knowing and not being tested the preference of the majority. Left unchecked, and absent mandates for global testing, people will continue to avoid testing and continue to insidiously both, knowingly and unknowingly infect their partners. Without a cure or improved treatments for viral STDs, an individual’s fear of receiving positive results will be difficult to overcome. Therefore, the focus of the new prevention strategy should be to develop incentives for individuals to be tested that also appeal to selfish motivations, rather than global calls for social responsibility, which have proven insufficient. The most economical and powerful solution is to leverage the tools of social networking, which CDC have found to be effective. This requires an efficient means by which prospective sexual partners can mutually communicate their negative HIV/STD test results, prior to sexual activity.

Problem - No Incentive for Testing

The principal problem of HIV and other viral STDs is that both the carriers and their partners are not aware of their infection. CDC estimates that in the United States 25% of those infected with HIV are unaware that they are infected. They have also found that the best means of preventing new transmissions is to ensure that those infected are aware of their condition, because when people know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

t to overcome. Therefore, the focus of the new prevention strategy should be to develop incentives for individuals to be tested that also appeal to selfish motivations, rather than global calls for social responsibility, which have proven insufficient. The most economical and powerful solution is to leverage the tools of social networking, which CDC have found to be effective. This requires an efficient means by which prospective sexual partners can mutually communicate their negative HIV/STD test results, prior to sexual activity.

Problem - No Incentive for Testing

The principal problem of HIV and other viral STDs is that both the carriers and their partners are not aware of their infection. CDC estimates that in the United States 25% of those infected with HIV are unaware that they are infected. They have also found that the best means of preventing new transmissions is to ensure that those infected are aware of their condition, because when people know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

ve HIV/STD test results, prior to sexual activity.

Problem - No Incentive for Testing

The principal problem of HIV and other viral STDs is that both the carriers and their partners are not aware of their infection. CDC estimates that in the United States 25% of those infected with HIV are unaware that they are infected. They have also found that the best means of preventing new transmissions is to ensure that those infected are aware of their condition, because when people know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

ple know they are positive they tend to reduce their level of sexually risky behavior. CDC and World Health Organization (“WHO”) now call for annual HIV for all between the ages of 18 to 64. However, these recommendations are still incomplete models to effectively isolate the disease. They do not provide a self-interested motivation for individuals to be tested and they remain biased toward a philosophy of treatment over prevention.

Current Partner Notification Systems

There are examples of online partner notification systems that have proved successful; however they are also retroactive measures of disease isolation, rather than proactive prevention. Inspot.org is a non-profit website that allows people who have been infected with HIV to anonymously notify past sexual partners that they are at risk and should seek testing. Statistical data on the effectiveness of this system is not available, but one may surmise that it would at least help to encourage high risk people to seek testing. This is a beneficial system for those already infected, but does little to help individuals prevent contraction. Its anonymous system, although practical, does little to encourage open discussion about HIV/STDs before sexual activity takes place.

Sites for Positive Carriers

Interestingly, there are a number of successes systems that “sero-sort” positive carriers from the larger population. For example, in Africa, there is a popular Internet dating site called HIVSingles.com, which encourages HIV positive people to date other HIV carriers. It is successful because it allows people to mutually identify themselves as carriers, thereby removing the moral and ethical dilemmas, awkwardness, guilt and legal liability associated with dating someone who may not be infected. There are other such sites like HerpesSingles.com, which have become popular in the United States and similarly encourage people infected with genital herpes to date others also infected with the disease. These sites do however instill a false sense of security because there are many strains of these viruses, which may cause more or less severe symptoms depending on the individual. Also, there is a risk that new, more dangerous and more easily communicable viruses may be born out of increased cross-contamination in individuals who are exposed to multiple strains. However, at least these sites isolate those infected with ce