STD contact tracing question

[ChristophBB]

Question about repeated STD positive tests (like chlamydia or ghonoreah). If you start testing positive on a frequent enough basis, I'm told that the health department of your local municipality may contact you and want to do contact tracing. Has this happened to anyone? How do you handle a situation where you may be seen as a 'problem' person in the context of STD spread?

[fargo_bare]

Every time I tested positive for something I get a call from the Health Dept.  I just say it was a random fuck from on-line or met at a bar

[viking8x6]

Actually, in many places they get pretty insistent on contact tracing if you turn up positive for syphilis at all. Depends on your state's laws, but a lot of them have that. It's possible that the law is from before it was curable with antibiotics, I don't know. Irritating. The time I had to deal with that, I assured them I'd do my best to contact everyone, but refused to give the contacts for privacy reasons, and they were OK with that. But really, what's one to do if half one's contacts were anonymous at bookstores? Nada. Which is pretty much why STIs are still so prevalent.

[Guest MattDillan]

I was contacted by Public Health in California and Maryland.  They wanted names, but I told them I hooked up on the internet. Then they wanted to know the name of the website — I told them ‘Christian Mingle’.   I did however contact the individuals myself. 

[scott0882]

Florida does contact tracing for STDs. It has happen to me before when I caught syphilis 8 years ago. I told them some random hook up and I would contact them myself. 

[ChristophBB]

1 hour ago, MattDillan said:

I was contacted by Public Health in California and Maryland.  They wanted names, but I told them I hooked up on the internet. Then they wanted to know the name of the website — I told them ‘Christian Mingle’.   I did however contact the individuals myself. 

That's awesome. 

[SmoothATLVers]

2 hours ago, MattDillan said:

I was contacted by Public Health in California and Maryland.  They wanted names, but I told them I hooked up on the internet. Then they wanted to know the name of the website — I told them ‘Christian Mingle’.   I did however contact the individuals myself. 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Guest takingdeepanal]

I've only ever had the one STD (rectal gono). I wasn't asked who gave it to me - but I was able to contact two of the three (or four) tops who fucked me, and advised that they get tested. I also asked the top who arranged the play session whether he would contact the tops who I didn't know (he he knew).

[LKMike]

In Chicago I have been asked if I wanted the clinic to contact my sexual partners.  I have tested positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea several times. One time I walked into a clinic. Told the receptionist I had been exposed to chlamydia.  Nurse took me in back, asked how I knew. Told her someone had told me on an app he had fucked me and then tested positive for it. She didn't even test me, just gave me the pills and told me to to abstain for a week.

I have to say, during the time I was regularly getting anal and throat STDs,  getting a call from an always caring and respectable sounding nurse, especially if it was a female,  was such a humiliating turn on.

Edited September 28, 2020 by LKMike

[leatherpunk16]

The first time I had gono, I was told that my case had to be reported to the CDC. I despaired a bit over that. This was nearly ten years ago. Had it a few more times since then, but it doesn't seem like anything is going to happen about it. 

[john54476]

I know I have been contacted by health dept when a hook up I had came up positive for an std, got an email which I ignored and they tracked me down through my ISP and got dragged in for testing 

[BootmanLA]

9 hours ago, leatherpunk16 said:

The first time I had gono, I was told that my case had to be reported to the CDC. I despaired a bit over that. This was nearly ten years ago. Had it a few more times since then, but it doesn't seem like anything is going to happen about it. 

Generally speaking, the CDC is mostly worried about tracing the spread of an infection, not shaming people who get infected. Notification of partners is not to shame them, but to alert them that they may have been exposed and may need treatment.

It's understandable that for some people, this is an embarrassing topic to discuss with a health care provider or official. It shouldn't be, but it often is.

[Guest hungandmean]

Can only speak to my country - 

Initiatives like this are more about tracking infections in an area, so that funding can be assigned.

No one is actively investigating how much of a slut you are - it's more about financial resource allocation.

Furthermore - you have to consider that contact tracing and anonymous notification of potential infections serves you as well as your partners. You'd want to be notified i'd assume. 

[BB4fking]

i used to get STI testing at a sexual health clinic at the hospital and you went back to the clinic to get the results in an interview with the nurse. Then things got streamlined and you only came back in if you got a call i.e. a positive STI result. They always asked about contacts but as all my sex was at saunas I never knew who they were. I was not embarrassed with their questions as they were very professional and non-judgmental and knew I had multiple casual contacts from an interview at the test stage. They encouraged you to tell your hookups to get tested and offered to contact sex partners for you if it would be easier for you - a kind of service for the nervous, they would be discreet and not say who you were.

With PrEP 3 monthly testing I no longer go to the clinic but just get tested at community laboratories around the city through prescription from my doctor. When I have a positive result he calls or, if he misses me, sends a text, calling me in for treatment and reminding me to contact any partners. 

With apps I don’t really know who people really are but I do at least have a means to contact them. I caught syphillis last year and found out through a test at a Pride event between my regular 3 month tests which was good as there were just two hookups to tell, the first of which I’d almost certainly got it from and the second I feared I’d passed it to (I felt a bit guilty as I’d talked him into barebacking). The second guy was very nice and thanked me for telling and went for treatment. Ironically the first guy, who was very young, had blocked me on Grindr- I can only speculate why, but suspect he was so immature that he’d already been tested and was either too embarrassed to face his contacts or imagined I’d infected him, silly behaviour in either case as communication is key when getting a positive STI result. Anyway despite the blocking I already had his phone number as we’d airdropped some videos of one of our encounters. I texted him the news but never heard back - probably should have asked the clinic to contact trace him given his uncommunicative behaviour. 

[Kimberley]

Our healtcare clinic ''GGD'' have a option to use their anonymous STD partner alerts. you give the phone numbers to them and they will contact the persons. so nobody will ever know from who they got it. but you don't have to use that option. you can alert you're dates by youself or if it's anonymous sex-dates from the internet then it stops. no way to contact them then