title: Prevalence, incidence, and persistence of syphilis infection in female sex workers in a Chinese province.
abstract: The study's objectives were to investigate the prevalence, incidence, persistence, and associated risk factors of syphilis in female sex workers (FSWs) in Kaiyuan City, Yunnan, China. Three serial cross-sectional surveys were conducted and biological specimens were collected and tested for HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and drug use. The logistic Generalized Estimating Equation regression model was used to identify risk factors for prevalent syphilis. The prevalence of syphilis was 7·5%, 8·4% and 8·8%, respectively, in the three survey periods. Estimated syphilis incidence was 1·07 cases/100 person-years, and the persistence of syphilis per person at 6 months was 90·4%. In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with syphilis were age, lower education level, number of clients in a week, inconsistent condom use with clients, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and Chlamydia trachomatis. Persistent syphilis in this population of FSWs is a serious public health concern.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China. wangnbj@163.com
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: G X
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011477:Sex Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013587:Syphilis / Q000453:epidemiology*