ABSTRACT
Hong Kong is an area with low HIV prevalence. Public health services provided through the methadone clinics and public sexually transmitted diseases clinics have contributed to the control of HIV in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, surveillance indicates that HIV infections are increasing, especially in young male Chinese. The seropositivity rate of HIV in injection drug users is also increasing. A significant number of sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis and gonorrhoea, continue to occur. Continuing vigilance is required to prevent an increase in HIV infections.
Subject(s)
HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/prevention & control , Forecasting , Hong Kong/epidemiology , Humans , Population Surveillance , Prevalence , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Behavioural serial sentinel surveillance survey for female sex workers (FSWs) was carried out in the Government Social Hygiene Clinics in Hong Kong during 1999 and 2000. A total of 1366 and 1451 FSWs participated in the questionnaire survey respectively. The results showed that the majority of FSWs attending the clinics were of Chinese ethnicity (83.8%, 87.6%) while Thai (13.0%, 9.49%) and Filipino (2.1%, 2.7%) were the main foreign ethnic groups. The karaoke night club was the most frequent reported workplace (32.0%, 32.6%) followed by a club (8.9%, 11.7%) and free-lancing (8.6%, 9.0%). The proportion of FSWs who always used condoms in vaginal sex with commercial sex partners was 70.9% and 75.0% respectively (P=0.038). Compared with previous results, a rising trend of condom use by FSWs in commercial sex was observed. However, there was a relatively low condom use during commercial oral sexual intercourse (30.7%, 36.6%) and sex with their regular sex partners in all forms of sexual activities. Client dislike is the main attributed factor for not wearing condoms. The point prevalence of both infectious syphilis and HIV infection was 0.1% in both years. These data are useful for planning, resource allocation and evaluation of outreach activities and STI services targeting at FSWs and their clients. They provide a sampling framework for further surveillance.
Subject(s)
Sentinel Surveillance , Sex Work/statistics & numerical data , Sexual Behavior/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Chi-Square Distribution , Community Health Centers/statistics & numerical data , Condoms/statistics & numerical data , Female , Hong Kong/epidemiology , Humans , Philippines/ethnology , Risk-Taking , Sex Work/psychology , Sexual Behavior/psychology , Sexual Partners/psychology , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/epidemiology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Thailand/ethnology , Transients and Migrants/statistics & numerical data , Workplace/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
A prospective epidemiologic survey on the prevalence of foot disease in Hong Kong found foot disease in 64% of patients screened. All of the patients were ethnically Chinese. Of the conditions specified in the questionnaire, fungal foot infection, tinea pedis, and toenail onychomycosis were the most frequently encountered conditions, followed by metatarsal corns, eczema, psoriasis, and pes planus. Vascular disease, osteoarticular pathology, diabetes mellitus, obesity, atopy, and participation in sports were the main factors coexisting with the foot conditions. Of the study population, 17% and 21% reported that their quality of life was affected by pain and discomfort, respectively. These percentages are much lower than those obtained in other studies; it may therefore be inferred that foot complaints are being neglected by the ethnic Chinese population in Hong Kong.