The Epidemic of HIV, HCV and Syphilis and the Correlates of Sexual Transmitted Infections among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China

Li Shen, Xiaoxia Liu, GengFeng Fu, Shixuan Hao, Minghui Zhang, Ting Wang, Jing Yang, Xiao Wu, Lingxiang Mao

To investigate the epidemic of HIV, HCV and syphilis, HIV-1 subtype among men who have sex with men (MSM) and to measure factors that correlated with sexual transmitted infections (STIs), a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 657 MSM in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, during 2012-2013. Social-demographic characterization and risky behaviors were collected and blood samples were obtained. In this survey, the prevalence of STIs of HIV (5.3%), HCV (0.6%) and syphilis (19.2%) were measured. Of 35 HIV-infected MSM, 1 (0.2%) and 17 (2.6%) were co-infected with HCV and syphilis. Among 33 samples with available HIV-1 genomic fragments sequences, 6.1% B, 72.7% CRF01_AE and 21.2% CRF07_BC were indentified. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age>30 years (OR 2.002; 95% CI 1.144 to 3.502) and having had STIs symptoms in the past year (OR 11.673; 95% CI 3.092 to 44.078) were positively correlated with STIs positive, while consistently use condom when have sex with male partners (OR 0.621; 95% CI 0.408 to 0.945) was significantly associated with a low STIs rate. The worsening epidemic of HIV, HCV and syphilis, complex subtypes of HIV-1 and risk factors suggest that effective intervention strategies should be strengthened for MSM in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu.