Characteristics of heterosexual transmission of HIV infection in 4 provinces in China

Objective To understand the characteristics of heterosexual transmission of HIV infection in some provinces in China. Methods Cross-sectional retrospective study was performed among HIV positive persons infected through heterosexual contact to understand their heterosexual transmission mode, socio-demographic characteristics by face to face questionnaire interview in Chinas 4 provinces with different AIDS epidemic severities and geographic locations. Results A total of 676 HIV positive persons were recruited with informed consent for study, 47.6% (322/676) of them were infected by commercial sexual partners, 28.1% (190/676) were infected by permanent sexual partners and 24.3%(164/676) were infected by casual sexual partners. Among the HIV infected persons through commercial sex contact, 73.9% were male, 35.1% were aged 50 years, among the HIV infected persons through casual sex contact, 54.9% were aged 30 years old. Conclusion HIV heterosexual transmission was mainly caused by commercial sex contact in the provinces surveyed, but the transmission through permanent sexual partners and casual sexual partners should not be neglected.