Over 40 people took advantage of the free, anonymous examinations and tests at the Dermatology and Venereology Clinic of UMBAL “Alexandrovska” on Valentine’s Day. 75% of visitors are men aged 20-71, with a significantly smaller number of women in the 20-63 age range. Visitors are tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases – chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, fungal infections. By the end of the week, 10% of patients will have additional free examinations. “In recent years, young people have become more responsible for their health. They get informed en masse from the Internet, and since the information there is startling, it makes them come for consultations with specialists. Unfortunately, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of people infected with HIV and syphilis. The seriousness of syphilis is neglected and we are constantly registering new and new cases. The disease no longer proceeds in the classical way – there are no pronounced external symptoms, and for this reason many of the patients do not even suspect that they are virus carriers,” says Dr. Elena Petrova, a dermo-venereologist specialist. “There is a trend in the development of the sexual culture of Bulgarians. We, the doctors, are pleased to report that Bulgarians are increasingly interested in and paying attention to their sexual “hygiene” and health,” says Dr. Georgi Pehlivanov, dermatologist-venereologist at the Clinic for Skin and Venereal Diseases in Aleksandrovska Hospital. According to Dr. Elena Petrova “many of the people who come to be tested for HIV do so immediately after risky sexual contact. It is good to consult a specialist the next day, but for a true HIV test, the results can come out after a month at the earliest. And to be even more certain, a repeat examination should be done 3 and 6 months after sexual contact. A big problem is that many people think that the body builds up immunity to sexually transmitted infections. The only disease for which there is a vaccine is hepatitis B, the other infections can be repeated many times.”