The dynamics of the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 2005 to 2012 in Shenzhen, China.

Jin Zhao,Chenli Zheng,Lin Chen,Antoine Chaillon,Yongxia Gan,Zhengrong Yang,Guilian Li,Ping Zhong,Davey M Smith,Yihong Hu,Wende Cai,Chiyu Zhang,Xiaohui Wang

doi:10.1038/srep28703

Abstract

HIV-1 epidemics among MSM are a major public health concern in China, especially in large cities. This study sought to better understand the dynamics of HIV molecular epidemiology among MSM in Shenzhen, a rapidly developing city with over 13.8 million people. HIV-1 pol sequences were obtained from 996 (53.5%) of 1862 HIV-infected MSM and 403(9.0%) of 4498 heterosexuals and injection drug users in Shenzhen, China from 2005-2012. Eight HIV-1 subtypes and some inter-subtype recombinants were identified among sampled MSM with CRF07_BC (39.1%) and CRF01_AE (35.1%) being the most predominant. From 2006 to 2012, the prevalence of CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B rapidly increased, while the prevalence of subtypes B and CRF01_AE gradually decreased. The genetic distances within CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B groups were significantly lower than within CRF01_AE and B groups. The vast majority (90.3%) of HIV-1 infected MSM in Shenzhen were migrants who came from 31 of the 34 provinces of China, and these migrants had significantly different HIV-1 subtype distributions from the local MSM. This study highlighted the importance of CRF07_BC and migrants in the changing HIV epidemic among MSM in China, and provides a molecular epidemiology framework for understanding how HIV-1 epidemics can change in large cities with diverse risk groups.

Highlights

Study, we sought to characterize the changing molecular epidemiology of the HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) and migrant populations in Shenzhen, China to elucidate possible opportunities for prevention
From 2005 to 2012, a total of 6,348,252 individuals in Shenzhen, China were screened for HIV, and 6,822 (0.11%) were found to be HIV-1 seropositive[19] Overall, HIV-1 prevalence rates were relatively stable in Shenzhen from 2005 to 2012 (0.09–0.13%)
To better understand the HIV epidemic among MSM, around half (996/1862) of HIV-infected individuals reporting MSM risk were analyzed in this study

Summary

Introduction

Study, we sought to characterize the changing molecular epidemiology of the HIV epidemic among MSM and migrant populations in Shenzhen, China to elucidate possible opportunities for prevention. HIV-1 infected migrants reporting MSM risk came from 31 of 34 provinces of China in 6 main geographic regions: i) Northwestern, ii) Northeastern, iii) Southwestern, iv) Southern, v) Eastern and vi) Central (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Table S1).

Results

Conclusion