Analysis on the HIV voluntary counseling and testing results of 1091 cases in Cixi of Zhejiang Province

Objective The study was conducted to investigate the HIV infections among out-patient inquirers to the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control of AIDS in Cixi, providing evidence for the prevention and control of AIDS in the city. Methods The blood samples of 1091 out-patient inquirers to the VCT from January 2006 to June 2007 were tested for HIV antibodies. Preliminary screening with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed, and the positive results were sent to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ningbo for confirmation tests by Western blot (WB). Results The age of the 1091 cases distributed among the range from 3 months to 69 years. Young adults were the major, while the 19 to 35-year-old group accounted for 87.72%. There were 25 positive HIV antibody cases, the positive rate being 2.29%, including 16 men and 9 women with the male to female ratio of 1.78∶1. Sexual transmission accounted for 60%. Conclusion The promotion of the VCT project will enable the early discovery of HIV-infected people and AIDS patients. Further publicity of the project and enhancement of its confidentiality will improve the efficiency and can effectively encourage an alteration of the high-risk behaviors among the inquirers, reducing HIV transmission.