HIV and syphilis in young Chinese adults: implications for spread

Our objective was to explore the epidemiology of HIV and syphilis at population level in young Chinese adults. The study was carried out in six areas of three Chinese provinces: Zhejiang, Yunnan and Shaanxi. All couples attending the compulsory premarital examination were recruited. Routinely taken...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of STD & AIDS 2005-03, Vol.16 (3), p.262-266
Main Authors: HESKETH, T, TANG, F, WANG, Z. B, HUANG, X. M, WILLIAMS, D, CUBITT, D. W, TOMKINS, A. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
AIDS/HIV
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the genital system
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Specimen Collection - methods
China - epidemiology
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
Female
General aspects
HIV Infections - diagnosis
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - transmission
HIV-1
Human bacterial diseases
Human immunodeficiency virus
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Population Surveillance
Premarital Examinations
Prevalence
Syphilis - diagnosis
Syphilis - epidemiology
Syphilis - transmission
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Our objective was to explore the epidemiology of HIV and syphilis at population level in young Chinese adults. The study was carried out in six areas of three Chinese provinces: Zhejiang, Yunnan and Shaanxi. All couples attending the compulsory premarital examination were recruited. Routinely taken blood was collected onto filter paper. Tests for HIV and syphilis used modified particle agglutination techniques. In all, 17,226 individuals were tested. There were no HIV infections in Zhejiang or Shaanxi. In Yunnan, there were 28 positives: 0.75% (95% confidence interval: 0.5, 1.1), with 22 (78%) in men and 16 (57%) in known high-risk individuals. Syphilis prevalence ranged from 0.33% to 0.71% across study sites, with 58% in men. Although syphilis levels suggest that unsafe sexual activity is occurring in all areas, HIV is not yet affecting the general population of Zhejiang or Shaanxi. The epidemic in Yunnan is being driven by injecting drug users, but there may now be transmission in the general population.
ISSN:0956-4624
1758-1052
DOI:10.1258/0956462053420257