Sentinel surveillance of AIDS in male outpatients visiting STD clinics in Huzhou, Zhejiang,2010

Objective To understand the infection status of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among male outpatients seeking medical care in STD clinics in Huzhou and provide scientific evidence for the development of prevention and control measures. Methods According to the national AIDS surveillance standards, the questionnaire survey was conducted among the male outpatients and blood samples was taken from them to detect antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Treponema pallidum and hepatitis C virus. Results Totally 800 male outpatients were surveyed in 2010, and most of them were Han people (99.1%), married males (73.3%), local residents (90.9%) and aged 20-49 years (76.6%). The positive rate of HIV antibody was 0.4% and the positive rate of syphilis antibody was 22.0%, no hepatitis C virus antibody positive case was detected. Among the subjects surveyed, 22.8% had commercial sex in past three months, 28.9% had sex behavior with temporary sexual partners in past three months, 0.4% experienced injecting drug use, 3.5% had anal sex with men and 23.4% suffered from STDs. The rate of awareness of AIDS related knowledge in the subjects was 67.7%. Conclusion The prevalence rates of HIV and STDs in the male outpatients in STD clinics were high in Huzhou. It is necessary to strengthen the health education and behavior intervention in male outpatients visiting STD clinics to effectively control the spread of AIDS and STDs.