Health officials fight STDs with social networking

Association of press wrote:

Public health officials in Ohio and elsewhere are turning to online social networking sites to help control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Health agencies are signing on to the sites. Using information provided by clients who use their services, they can reach out to potentially infected partners online through their screen names.

The agencies notify an infected person's partners of an urgent health matter and provide a number to call.

The National Coalition of STD Directors has developed guidelines to help health departments with online notification.