Nantou Health Bureau Staff Star in Qixi Festival Video Promoting Healthy Sex

To promote healthy sexual practices for Qixi Festival, the Nantou County Health Bureau created a short promotional video. The video stars health bureau staff who act out a relatable scene of a couple drawing a fortune stick from Yue Lao, the god of love. This scenario is used to convey the importance of mutual respect and self-protection during sexual activity.

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Love needs health to accompany it.

The bureau highlighted that while Qixi Festival is a romantic occasion, love also requires health. Many people mistakenly believe they don't need screening for STIs or HIV if they have no symptoms, a fixed partner, or are young. However, infections often show no symptoms in their early stages, making visual inspection unreliable. The only way to detect and treat infections early is through screening, preventing unwitting transmission to partners.

To reach a younger audience, the health bureau collaborated with Nantou Cinema and a charitable temple to produce the video. The staff's performance aims to make the health message more accessible. The video will premiere at Nantou Cinema and be released online.

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Many people often use 'no symptoms,' 'fixed partner,' or 'young age' as reasons not to get screened, but in reality, HIV and some STIs often have no obvious symptoms in the early stages.

The bureau stressed that HIV is now a manageable chronic disease. With early diagnosis and consistent antiviral treatment, individuals can achieve an undetectable viral load (U=U), meaning they cannot transmit the virus through sexual contact. Health authorities recommend that anyone who has ever been sexually active should have at least one HIV test. Those with unprotected sex should be screened annually, while individuals with multiple partners, a history of other STIs, or those who share needles should undergo screening every three to six months.

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HIV is now a controllable chronic disease. As long as it is diagnosed early and treated with antiviral therapy regularly, when the viral load is consistently undetectable (U=U), it will not be transmitted to others through sexual behavior.