I received a text message

Have you received a message from SMS DEPISTAGE? Now's your chance to get tested!

Everyone is likely to get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) in their lifetime. Most of the time, these infections have no symptoms, which is why it is important to get tested regularly.

Receiving this SMS does not necessarily mean that you have an STI. It means that one of your partners has an STI and wanted to tell you so that you can be tested as well. It is simply a precautionary principle. Getting tested allows you to be treated as soon as possible and thus avoid consequences for your health and that of your partners.

As the SMS TEST service does not specify which STI(s) your partner has contracted, consider asking for a full test, i.e:

Blood test
Pap smears (vagina, cervix, anus, throat)
A urine sample

For more information on the types of screening, click here

If you have just received a text message, we advise you to get tested quickly. However, some STIs take longer to be detected by screening (syphilis, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis). If you test "too early", you will get a "false-negative" result. We therefore advise you to do a second confirmatory test 6 weeks after your last risky sex.

For example: you caught syphilis on 01/03, your partner informs you on 10/03, if you test on 11/03, the result will be negative because you are still in the invisibility period.

If you test positive, this text message does not necessarily mean that the person who sent it to you is the one who infected you, it may even be the other way around. Most STIs have no symptoms (no visible effects); you may have had the STI for some time without knowing it.

In turn, we recommend that you warn your sexual partners and encourage them to go for testing.

The system is anonymous, we do not know the identity of the people sending or receiving messages and we do not keep any telephone numbers.