Saturday, July 9, 2011

Approximately one out of three new HIV infections in China is among men who have sex with men

In some south-western cities on the mainland, HIV prevalence among local men having sex with men (MSM) reached almost 20%. Nationwide, approximately 5% of MSM are living with HIV — 88 times higher than the national HIV prevalence of 0.057%, official statistics showed. Also, the prevalence is particularly higher in cities and urban areas. However, according to government figures, less than half of the MSM population has access to HIV testing services and less than 15% of HIV-positive MSM who need treatment are receiving it. In Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province, nearly 10% of local MSM are affected with HIV. Government estimates put China's gay population at between 5 and 10 million but the Qingdao-based expert Zhang Beichuan said that China might have more than 30 million gay men.

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