Growth in HIV infections under control: SZ CDC

Writer: Zhang Yu  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From: Shenzhen Daily | Updated: 2019-12-03

The rapid increase in HIV infections in Shenzhen has primarily been brought under control due to improved education and intervention measures in recent years, according to the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The city reported 1,715 new HIV/AIDS cases in the first 10 months of 2019, down 4.9 percent compared with the same period last year, according to a report released by the Shenzhen CDC on Sunday, marking the 32nd World AIDS Day.

The new reported cases include 1,089 HIV infections and 626 AIDS patients, which are up 0.1 percent and down 12.4 percent, respectively.

The report shows that 17.8 percent of the infected patients are permanent residents of Shenzhen and 91 percent of the infections were found in men. The average age of people when they first test HIV positive is 34.6 years old.

Nearly 97 percent of the newly reported infections were transmitted through sex, with 56.5 percent being through same-sex intercourse. New cases related to intravenous drug use accounted for 1.6 percent.

As of Oct. 31, 2019, a total of 13,599 people, excluding foreigners and those from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and Taiwan, had been found living with HIV in Shenzhen, the report showed.

In the January-October period, 15 HIV infections were found in students, all of whom had transmitted the infection through sex and 11 of whom are college students.

Shenzhen has established 192 HIV testing and counseling sites across the city and 1.86 million people were screened for HIV between January and October this year, up 12.1 percent from a year ago, according to the Shenzhen CDC.

As of Oct. 31 this year, the number of patients having received free antiviral treatment reached 14,519, 12,370 of whom are currently being treated in Shenzhen.

The HIV treatment success rate in the city has reached 99 percent, higher than the goal of 90 percent by 2020 proposed in the country’s 13th Five-Year Plan.

More actions will be taken to strengthen education on HIV/AIDS prevention, encourage voluntary testing and treatment and focus on key groups, such as young students and the floating population, said the Shenzhen CDC.

China will take comprehensive measures to control HIV transmission in a bid to keep the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country at a low level, the National Health Commission said Saturday, the day before World AIDS Day.

The commission listed six major goals expected to be achieved in the next three years, including raising awareness of HIV prevention and control, and educating people on avoiding or reducing unsafe sexual behavior.