Scientists develop “Facebook for STIs” where users can share their sexual health status

We’ve been sharing our vacation photos and impressions on social media for nearly a decade, and now there’s even a Facebook for sexually transmitted diseases (STIs).

Instead of “What’s on your mind?” it’s now “What’s in your blood?” via a new app called Zults, designed to share your most intimate details.

The app allows users to upload their STI results and share them with potential partners to reduce the risk of spreading infection.

The app has been launched as sexual health services across the UK struggle with an unprecedented rise in infections.

In 2023, there were 401,800 diagnoses of new sexually transmitted diseases in England, according to the UK Health Security Agency, compared to 383,789 in 2022.

The number of new diagnoses of gonorrhea reported in 2022 was the highest since records began in 1918, while the number of syphilis cases was the highest since 1948.

“We all have sex and can catch an infection,” says Bianca Dunne, co-founder of Zults. “It’s like going to work or school and catching a cold.”

“A pioneer, not an obstacle”

The new app allows users to upload and share their STI results with others via a web link, QR code or Bluetooth.

For the digitally savvy generation accustomed to meeting online, it is hoped that technology will be an enabler rather than an obstacle.

Users can upload STI test results from Sexual Health London (SHL). If they don’t have results yet, they can order a home test kit from the service.

There are plans to expand the program nationwide and include additional test partners.

Against the backdrop of rising infection rates, government spending on sexual health services has been cut by more than a third since 2023.

According to a recent report by the Guardian, English councils allocated £9.58 per person for sexual health services covering STI testing, treatment, contraception and counselling in 2022-23, up from just £14.41 per person in 2013-14.

Experts warn that people are being hospitalized for sexually transmitted diseases, even though these can easily be treated in local clinics.

“People can die from gonorrhoea. Babies can be born blind. People suffer the long-term effects of heart infections. They can get encephalitis, a brain infection,” warned Dr Claire Dewsnap, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, earlier this year.

Government data shows that sexually transmitted diseases occur disproportionately among young people, teenagers, certain ethnic groups, and gay and bisexual men.

There has been progress in HIV infections, among other things: since about 2005, these have been steadily declining, but recently they have shown a rise again.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is now widely available in tablet form and can be used to prevent HIV infection when taken before or, in extreme cases, immediately after contact with the virus.

Eliminating the stigma of sexual health

There is no doubt that the drug has prevented thousands of HIV infections, but some experts fear that it may have inadvertently led to a decline in condom use, thereby allowing other infections to spread.

However, this is not supported by published data, which suggest that the trend toward greater risk-taking among men who have sex with men began before the introduction of PrEP.

Ms Dunne said she expected men who have sex with men to be among the first users of the new app as they are “much more likely to be tested”.

“It’s part of their lifestyle, part of their culture, to get tested. Because of their lifestyle, they are often more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases. That’s why they go to the clinics much more often.”

It may be surprising that women in their late thirties and forties are also among the first users of the app.

“We also have a lot of women who look like they are recently divorced,” Ms Dunne said.

At the beginning of the month, highly sensitive data from the British health service NHS was made public following a cyberattack by a Russian criminal gang, including results of blood tests for HIV and cancer.

The group leaked nearly 400GB of data overnight through a hacking attack on Synnovis, a private/government-backed joint venture that provides pathology services such as blood testing and transfusions.

The ransomware attack affected seven hospitals run by two NHS trusts, including Guy’s and St Thomas’, and King’s College.

But Ms Dunne said the data stored on Zults was secure.

“We developed our app specifically as a medical device. The regulations for this are strict. We don’t keep the data for long. It’s all encrypted. We are very conscientious about perception,” she said.

Ms Dunne said stigma was the biggest barrier to people talking safely about their sexual past.

“I want to be able to just ask someone about their sexual health without feeling ashamed,” she said. “We understand that this is an incredibly uncomfortable conversation. There are weird connotations about what ‘dirty’ and ‘clean’ mean… It’s a huge challenge to change people’s behavior and change human behavior, but we have an obligation to do it.”

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