persistent health dept.

[hotelbttmslut]

Hey guys,

I received the news that I was poz from a syph/hiv test when a partner gave my info to the health dept...really wish i would have just heard from the partner! I'm doing fine with adjusting to the changes in my life, however I'm really ready to rid myself of this damn health dept guy that calls me every few weeks.  He wants to know where I'm getting my treatment, checked up that I made my appointment to receive my penicillin shot for the syph and of course wants to know the name and number of everyone i've ever been with so they can be tested.  my question is do i have to inform them where I'm getting treatment and if not how do you politely go about getting them to stop calling you? thanks. 

[Guest]

This is one of the problems when dealing with the public health departments, they take it up on themselves with the guidelines of the city and state to invade everyone's privacy that was involved. It would have been nice and foremost prudent of your friend/partner to have informed you before hand that he was going to give out your name on his part, so plans could have been made with some built in plausible deniability. I'm not sure what your options will be now that they are involved and the cat is out of the bag now, as all states and health departments handle this differently. Depending on the state, etc, some can handle this all as a criminal act if not giving them what they want, so check into this carefully. As for you listing names and numbers, though, I'd just claim it was your friend/partner was the only one you had been with and was surely him that bred you and deny having relations with anyone else for that part of it. If someone else comes up with your name and number though, and having had sex with you it could get sticky.

Where I'm located, when the public/county health department gets involved, the person's name goes into a database along with any and all information they can come up with, then if any circumstances come up and that person's named is implicated as a possible sex partner and the new patient is a poz, it opens one up to prosecution, etc. As to you having to inform them, it's all in what the laws are in your state, county, etc, that the health department have to follow. As I said, I'd give the partner's name and number that gave your info to them and probably plead ignorance to anyone else and just say that you had a few random encounters and names and numbers weren't a part of it.

Know I'm not much help here, but just giving you some ideas about what to think about and how to go about it depending on your location and how may big-mouthed friends you have there that you may have had sex with.

[Guest]

Tried to edit and post another thought, but was too late, so will have to do it this way with an addition.

It is for the very reason in my last line on the previous post, that If and when I do become poz or with another STD I will not go to the public/county health dept., but rather go to a doctor or regular STD clinic that deals with it everyday. They have already heard it all and all the excuses and already know about guys and anonymous sex habits and random nameless partners and one night stands, etc, so they are used to barking up the wrong trees.

[fillmyholeftl]

I work in HIV Outreach... for what it is worth, the County Health Dept we are associated with, "says" they are gathering information to make sure everyone gets into treatment, with Ryan White Aid of free Meds/Dr visits.  Maybe I am being wishful, thinking that is all they want to do.  I really don't think of believe that any of the information would be used to prosecute someone. 

[einathens]

my name popped up at or health dept in a cluster study when someone I'd once had sex with had sex with someone who had sex with someone who got syph. went in, got tested, and when they pressed me for partner contact info, I said 'for the last year, anonymous encounters. might have given my number to someone, but I didn't save any of theirs.' 

and that was that. I did contact all the guys I'd played with, gave them a heads up, and it turns out that they'd all been contacted already. small town, I guess.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, fillmyholeftl said:

I work in HIV Outreach... for what it is worth, the County Health Dept we are associated with, "says" they are gathering information to make sure everyone gets into treatment, with Ryan White Aid of free Meds/Dr visits.  Maybe I am being wishful, thinking that is all they want to do.  I really don't think of believe that any of the information would be used to prosecute someone. 

Not disputing any of what you said there, but as I said before, all states and counties are different in how they handle this info. I do know of at least one case for sure where this info was collected and then used to prosecute the guy and is spending time in prison now for many years for purposely and knowingly infecting others. And it all began with the health dept. round up of info. This is the only real case that I know of, but it shows it can happen that way.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, einathens said:

my name popped up at or health dept in a cluster study when someone I'd once had sex with had sex with someone who had sex with someone who got syph. went in, got tested, and when they pressed me for partner contact info, I said 'for the last year, anonymous encounters. might have given my number to someone, but I didn't save any of theirs.' 

and that was that. I did contact all the guys I'd played with, gave them a heads up, and it turns out that they'd all been contacted already. small town, I guess.

Best way to handle it fro sure.

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

My personal policy is that i tell them my play was in a bath house in another state and I have no way of knowing who my sex partners were...  If I really do know who, I call them so they can test, etc cluing them into my official story....  

[daddyboyleo]

Same thing happened to me.

Had persistent calls from Health Dept.

I had already been treated and I had already contacted the one partner who might have given or gotten the STD.

There's sometimes just NO NICE WAY to get a persistent Health Dept. off your back.

I know he was just trying to do a good job, (which I sincerely appreciate) but after several calls, I let him have it and did not mince words.

I then blocked his number.

The calls stopped.

 

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

I think it is important to note that the county health departments have an obligation to reduce what could become public health matters.  Public health vs privacy rights is perhaps a legitamate debate; but eventually the costs for widespread health issues takes an economic toll.  So most areas make it a rule to pursue new infections with an eye to limiting its spread.  If I were to rephrase the OP it kind of reads "I don't like the health department calling me to see if I am healthy".  Is that really a bad thing?  Their job is to reduce the spread of disease.  When I get those calls I am respectful, friendly...  They're just doing their job; why be the unpleasant guy who makes their day sour?

In my STI pretest questionaire all of my encounters are "anonymous" and I never have sex with people I know.  That is my official story.  But I do contact them if they aren't in fact, anonymous and I have been contacted similarly.  So far those I've had to contact take it well; and appreciate that I phoned rather than report.  I do get treatment for whatever appeared.  So far that has never proven to be an issue when regular testing has revealed an STI. 

[Guest FriendlyBottom]

A couple of years ago, an employee of the public health department in the next big city over from me contacted me via messaging on a certain web site we are all familiar with. Apparently I had been named as a semi-recent sexual contact of a guy diagnosed with secondary syphilis. The guy gave my profile name (the only way he knew how to contact me) and the health employee contacted me that way. She left her phone number in the message.  I bought a burner phone and called her back, told her that I lived in different state (I do, but not the state I told her), that  I'd get tested and would let her know the results.  I was fairly certain that I was fine and had been named in error.  But I went to get tested at free gay STD clinic (fake name, didn't tell them about the call from health department, gave same burner cell number as contact).  A week or so later, I got the news that syphilis test was non-reactive/negative and Hep C was negative as well (didn't know they were testing for that, so bonus).  I tried a few times to contact health employee on phone, but rolled over to voicemail and I didn't leave a message.  She eventually contacted me on the web site and I told her about my negative results.  She was very appreciative of my follow-up.

[tallslenderguy]

I got syphillis a couple of years ago, saw the rash and went to a doc-ina-box to get treatment.  The doctor was young and asked if I minded if he showed the rash to another doc, which was cool with me in the interest of learning and science, neither had ever actually seen a case of syphillis lol. Syphilis is reportable, so I got contacted by the health dept a couple of times. Same story as many here relate, but my sex is pretty much all hook up and anonymous, so there were no numbers or names to give out. I did tell any regular fuck buddies vs giving info to the health dept. 

On another note, I was treated with doxycycline because the medical office didn't have the penicillin shots. A year and a half later I tested poz for HIV and went ahead and got tested for everything else too. They test for antibodies to the bacteria that causes syphillis, but because they didn't know my baseline, I went ahead and got retreated, 2 shots of penicillin a week for 3 weeks. 

I moved from VA to OR and VA is where I had the contact with the health dept. No one has ever contacted me in OR. 

[Guest GoodExercise]

I was on speed dial with the Health Gestapo until I stopped giving my number out.  I still get hassled via Grindr and Kik, but they can't stop me from blocking them.  As for the HIV Counselors -- one of my favorite sex partners ever was a young HIV Counselor that took it up the ass from me raw for weeks before we ever discussed status.  

[Guest jogupo754]

As somebody who worked at a Ryan White office and clinic at both the regional and local level here is the truth. HIV clinics have their Ryan White funding TIED to whether or not a certain percentage of their clients are linked to care (definition varies) within 90 days. They also get SAMHSA funds if 30% or more of their clients are using drugs or alcohol which is why they constantly ask about that (even most low level clinic employees do not know that however--important to remember as they are usually just doing whatever they are told for a check). That is why many health departments don't even bother to mention to their employees that ALL patients of any disease have a legal right to REFUSE treatment without giving any reason whatsoever. This isn't so much a law as it is a cornerstone of medical ethics for 2,000 years (since Hippocrates). You have a RIGHT to refuse meds or anything else but you do not have a right to spread the disease to others without their knowledge and legally in most states even with their knowledge but those laws are the subject of huge debate which is why sites like this one exist. Spreading HIV to others can be medically construed as harm to others and used as a basis to detain you in a psychiatric facility or more likely in CDC style quarantine but this is rarely done in practice in the US.

I have heard of people losing their jobs (and marriages) because of Disease Investigation Services showing up at their homes and jobs unannounced. I know of a MAJOR health dept in the US (PM me for more) that admits to DHS type surveillance of the gay community as a whole to "catch" chargers. They will post fake A4A profiles, Craigslist ads, BBRT ads (all with the knowing cooperation of these sites). I know this for a fact. One NIH employee I know personally is a BGC Live forum regular and does research with the responses he gets. I admit to my own mistakes as an ADAP coordinator harassing people about taking meds in my case it was personally difficult for me emotionally to watch people chose to die painful deaths especially having access to their labs and personal stories in their chart. However I recognize and fight for people's ability to choose to die if that is what they want in all cases. Working in a Ryan White clinic made me a huge right to die advocate and I support laws like are on the books in Washington and Oregon. The end stages of AIDS can result not only in painful cancers but in Alzheimer's like symptoms which to me is the worst suffering of all. We need to recognize quality of life as a society not just check for a pulse.

Anyway feel free to PM me but I know what I am saying is the truth. Most people I worked with in the field got their health info about HIV, Prep etc. from drug companies and CDC pamphlets not actually reading and INTERPRETING peer reviewed medical research for themselves. Many times I have witnessed them essentially practicing medicine without a license. I have a MPH and always would caution people "check with the doctor on that" when I said something and would remind them I was not one. And I have read extensively and written a thesis on this subject.

[scott0882]

Back in June 2012, my routine blood work at the doctor's came positive for syphilis. I was devastated to find out with a phone call from the health department and of course I gave them the address of my guy that I been topping most of the time. I gave his address knowing that he bottoms for everyone. Of course, I got it from another bottom who couldn't get me off. The slutty bottom test came back negative.