A9 A Survey of the Prevalence of HIV and Syphilis Infections and Sexual Behaviors Among MSM in Jilin Province, China

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Background HIV prevalence among MSM in China has increased significantly in recent years. Current estimates put it at 5%. In 2009 alone, the incidence more than doubled (32.5%) from 12.2% in 2007. The incidence rate of syphilis has also increased significantly in the past decade, with 6.5 cases/100,000 per year in 1999 and 24.66 cases/100,000 per year in 2009. The 2009 national prevalence of syphilis was 31.2%. Objective To evaluate the prevalence of HIV and syphilis and sexual behaviors among MSM in Jilin province. Method: Snowball sampling was used to identify and collect information from 1172 MSM. Blood specimens were also collected for HIV and syphilis testing. Results Prevalence was 2.8% for HIV, 9.0% for syphilis and 0.77% for HIV/syphilis co-infection. Multiple sexual behaviors were common among HIV infected MSM who never used a condom in the 6 months prior to the study: 31.3% MSM had sex with men only; 25.0% MSM bought sex from other men; 44.4% MSM sold sex to other men; 33.3% were bisexuals. Among MSM who did not use a condom, the rate of condom use was lower in MSM only (13.9%) than bisexuals (20.6%) [χ2 = 30.82; P < 0.001]. Among syphilis infected MSM who never used a condom, 9.5% MSM had sex with men only, 3.8% MSM bought sex from other men, 25.0% MSM sold sex to other men and 29.2% were bisexuals. Conclusions MSM are still prone to HIV infection. Many HIV and/or syphilis infected MSM do not use condoms. Government should implement a vigorous campaign to sensitize people on the transmission and prevention of HIV and other STIs, the need to combat stigma and discrimination against MSM and sexual behavior change.