Mortality survey on HIV/AIDS-related deaths in HIV epidemic regions caused by contaminated plasma donation in central China

Abstract

The objective of our study was to understand the trend of AIDS deaths and the impact of AIDS-related deaths on the local mortality rate in seven villages in Shangcai County, Henan Province. A retrospective study survey among all deaths was conducted through household visits from 1 January 1995 to 31 October 2007 in seven administrative villages in Shangcai County of Henan Province. The cause of death and characteristics of the deceased were analyzed. There were a total of 2546 deaths, of which 521 (20.5%) were HIV/AIDS-related, 525 (20.6%) were suspected AIDS deaths, and 1500 (58.9%) were unrelated HIV/AIDS deaths. The proportion of deaths among people aged 20–49 years was less than 20% from 1995 to 1997, but increased to 27.4% in 1998, and reached 49.2% in 2001, followed by a decrease in succeeding years, dropping to 29.5% in 2007. HIV/AIDS-related and suspected deaths among those aged 20–49 years accounted for 63.9% and 70.9% of all deaths, respectively. The overall mortality rate was 7‰ from 1995 to 1999, and 14.9‰ in 2002. Our study shows that confirmed HIV/AIDS-related deaths and suspected AIDS deaths were the main cause of deaths at the local level after 1998, especially among those aged 20–49.