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

Abstract

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.