I'm writing to express my outrage and concern about Dr Delvin's response to a letter in his column (The Argus Lite, May 2).

Under the headline Sex In Mid Sussex, a woman wrote: "Last week, I foolishly had a one-night stand with a married man in Hayward's Heath. Next morning, he dumped me. Could he possibly have given me HIV?"

Dr Delvin's response was: "Well, HIV - the virus which causes AIDS - is pretty rare in Mid Sussex. So unless this guy had some connection with a part of the world where the germ is really common, such as South Africa, the risk he has infected you is very low indeed.

"If you're very worried, you could have an HIV blood test but I wouldn't advise doing it immediately. Generally, tests don't become positive till some weeks after exposure."

Does Dr Delvin know where the man came from? I'm not aware of HIV only targeting people from South Africa or other parts of the world. Also, she or he might be promiscuous - thereby making HIV (among other infections) a greater risk.

She might not have HIV but she might end up with an STD. Did Dr Delvin not think this might be an equally important issue for the readers, or is the incidence of STDs very low in Mid Sussex?

Does Dr Delvin know if the lady even used any protection? She knows nothing about HIV in 2006 it seems - there's a chance she doen't even know about proper contraception.

Maybe Dr D should advise the reader to be more cautious next time. I do not work in the health care sector but I think this advice is incorrect, bordering on racist, even, and potentially dangerous.

Dr Delvin replies: People often get upset at any suggestion HIV is much more common in certain countries than it is in others.

However, the fact is in South Africa more than one in ten of the population (10.8 per cent) is HIV-positive. This is the highest incidence in the world.

-In Britain, the figure is less than one in a thousand. Nevertheless, it is wise for everyone to practise safe sex.