Characteristics and HIV infection among AIDS voluntary counseling and testing clients in Shangcheng District / 预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the characteristics and prevalence of HIV infection among AIDS volunteer counseling and testing ( VCT ) clients in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City from 2016 to 2019, so as to provide insights into local AIDS control.@*Methods@#The demographic features, reasons for counseling and detection of anti-HIV antibody were captured from the VCT clinic of Shangcheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 to 2019, and the reasons for counseling and prevalence of HIV infections were analyzed.@*Results@#A total of 2 205 clients were included, among whom 1 920 participants ( 87.07% ) were male, 1 094 ( 49.61% ) were at ages of < 30 years, 1 293 ( 58.64% ) were single, and 1 165 ( 52.83% ) had an education level of diploma and above. The common reasons for counseling included a history of homosexual behaviors with men (887 clients, 40.23%), non-commercial irregular heterosexual behaviors ( 661 clients, 29.98% ), commercial heterosexual behaviors ( 308 clients, 13.97% ), HIV-positive spouse/regular sex partners ( 123 clients, 5.58% ), and no high-risk behaviors ( 47 clients, 2.13% ). The positive rate of anti-HIV antibody was 2.95% among the 2 205 clients, and a high positive rate was observed among clients at ages of 50 years and below ( 6.15% ), single clients ( 3.71% ), clients with an education level of primary school and below ( 6.04% ) and clients with HIV-positive spouse/regular sex partners ( 11.38% ).@*Conclusions@#Single men at ages of less than 30 years and with a high education level are predominant among VCT clients in Shangcheng District, and a history of homosexual behaviors with men is the predominant reason for counseling. There is a relative low prevalence rate of HIV infection among VCT clients in Shangcheng District; however, a high prevalence rate is found among single visitors at ages of 50 years and older, with an education level of primary school and below and HIV-positive spouse/regular sex partners.